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MANUAL   OF 
CHRISTIAN   EVIDENCES 


PROFESSOR  GEORGE  P.  FISHER'S  WORKS, 


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MANUAL  OF 


CHRISTIAN   EVIDENCES 


BY 

GEORGE  PARK  FISHER,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

1/ 

TITUS    STREET  PROFESSOR  OF  ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY  IN    YALE  UNIVERSITY 


NEW   YORK 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 

1894 


en/oi 


COPYKIGHT,  1888,  BT 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


TROW  DtRECTORr 

WrtMTING  AND  BOOKBINDING  COMPANY 

HEW  YORK 


PREFACE. 


The  half-formed  intention  to  write  a  short  manual 
of  Christian  Evidences,  which  I  had  for  some  time  en- 
tertained, took  a  definite  form  on  account  of  requests 
coming  to  me  from  persons  entitled  to  respect,  some 
of  whom  were  engaged  in  the  practical  work  of  teach- 
ing. It  appeared  to  me  that  a  brief  book,  confining 
itself  to  the  Evidences  of  Eevealed  Religion,  and  set- 
ting forth  in  a  connected  form  the  principal  topics  of 
definition  and  proof,  would  be  useful  to  readers  and 
to  pupils  who  have  not  time  for  the  study  of  more 
extended  treatises.^ 

Paley's  Evidences,  which  was  so  long  the  standard 
text-book  on  the  subject,  notwithstanding  the  signal 
merits  which  characterize  it,  has  one  striking  fault. 
To  the  internal  evidence  a  very  subordinate  place  is 
assigned.     The  argument  for  miracles  is  deprived  of 

*  In  "The  Grounds  of  Theistic  and  Christian  Belief  "(Charles 
Scribner's  Sons,  1883),  I  have  handled  the  main  topics  of  Natural 
Theology,  and  have  presented  more  in  detail  the  proofs  of  Revelation. 
In  that  work,  controverted  points  are  discussed  more  at  length. 


371503 


VI  PREFACE. 

the  legitimate,  if  not  indispensable,  advantage  which 
is  gained  by  a  preliminary  view  of  the  need  and  the 
intrinsic  excellence  of  the  Christian  Kevelation.  More- 
over, the  aspects  of  skepticism  and  disbelief  have  some- 
what changed  since  Paley's  time.  Books  like  Strauss's 
''Life  of  Jesus"  had  not  then  been  written.  Patristic- 
study  has  also  made  advances.  The  proofs  from  this 
source  require  some  revision.  Besides,  Paley's  work 
is  too  long  for  the  demands  of  those  for  whom  the 

present  manual  is  designed. 

G.  P.  P. 

New  Haven,  May  16, 1888. 


CO^TEI^TS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

What  is  to  be  Proved  and  the  Nature  op  the  Evi- 
dence,          1 


CHAPTER  II. 

What  is  Meant  by  Miracles  ?    The  Possibility  of 
Them,  and  the  Possibility  of  Proving  Them,    . 


CHAPTER  III. 

How  THE  Antecedent  Presumption  against  the  Oc- 
currence OF  Miracles  is  Set  Aside,    ,        .        .21 


CHAPTER  IV. 
Admitted  Facts  Respecting  Christianity,         .       .    28 

CHAPTER  V. 

Proof  op  the  Supernatural  Origin  op  Christian- 
ity FROM  the  Portraiture  op  the  Character 
OF  Jesus  in  the  Evangelists,        .        .        .        .32 


VllJ  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   VI. 

PAGH 

Proof  of  the  Miracles  from  Peculiar  Features 
OF  THE  Gospel  Narratives,    .....    37 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Proof  of  the  Resurrection  of  Jesus  from  State- 
ments BY  the  Apostle  Paul,  ....    41 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
The  Genuineness  of  the  Gospels,       .        ...    47 

CHAPTER   IX. 

Trustworthiness  of  the  Testimony  of  the  Apos- 
tles,     71 

CHAPTER  X. 

The  Proof  of  the  Resurrection  of  Jesus  from  the 
Evangelists, 82 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Alleged  Errors  of  the  Apostles  in  Matters  of 
Opinion, 86 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Alleged  Difficulties  in  the  Connection  of  Christ- 
ianity WITH  THE  Old  Testament  Religion,       .    91 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
Proof  of  Christianity  from  Prophecy,     .       .       .95 


CONTENTS.  IX 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

PAGE 

Argument  for  Christianity  from  the  Conversion 
AND  the  Career  of  the  Apostle  Paul,       •        .    99 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Proof  of  the  Divine  Origin  of  Christianity  from 
the  Intrinsic  Excellence  of  the  Christian 
System, 103 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Proof  Afforded  by  the  Contrast  of  Christianity 
with  other  religions  and  with  philosophical 
Systems, 107 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Corroborative  Proof  op  the  Truth  of  Christian- 
ity from  its  Utility, 114 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Corroborative  Proof  of  Christianity  from  its 
Rapid  Spread  in  the  First  Centuries,        .        .  117 

Index, .121 


CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES. 


CHAPTEE  I. 

WHAT  IS  TO  BE  PROVED  AND  THE  NATURE  OP  THE  EVIDENCE. 

The  design  of  this  book  is  to  prove  that  the  nar- 
ratives of  the  life  of  Jesus  which  are  contained  in 
the  New  Testament  are  true,  and  that  Christianity 
has  a  supernatural,  divine  orip'in  and  sanc- 

The  question.  -K         /-n  ^      r  i 

tion.  Did  Christ  speak  from  himself,  or 
was  his  doctrine  "  of  God  "  in  a  sense  not  to  be 
affirmed  of  any  system  of  which  man  alone  is  the 
author  ?  ^  Is  Christianity,  in  distinction  from  other 
religions,  stamped  with  an  authoritative  character, 
as  being  a  revelation  from  God  ?  If  the  history  of 
Jesus  as  it  is  recorded  in  the  Gospels,  and  of  the 
planting  of  the  Church  as  it  is  described  in  the  Acts 
and  the  Epistles,  is  worthy  of  belief,  these  ques- 
tions must  have  an  affirmative  answer. 

The  subject  of  the  present  inquiry  should  be  kept 
distinctly  in  view.     The  purpose  is  not  to  prove  the 

1  — "whether  it  be  of  God,  or  whether  I  speak  from  myself,"  John 
vii.  17  (Revised  Version). 
1 


2  €II2iISTIA.\  E  VIDENCES. 

truths  of  natural  religion.    The  existence  of  God  and 

the  fact  of  his  government  of  the  world  are  taken 

for  granted.     It  is  true  that,  through  the 

What  it  is  not    .  .  ^   *    ^     r>^^      »    ,  *        * ,  i 

designed  to  imprcssion  which  Christianity  makes,  one 
may  have  his  doubts  on  these  funda- 
mental points  removed.  Christianity,  even  prior 
to  the  examination  of  its  external  proofs,  may 
awaken  a  more  clear  perception  of  the  being  of 
God,  and  a  more  firm  and  vivid  conviction  of  the 
free  and  responsible  nature  of  man,  and  of  the 
reality  of  a  future  life.  But  great  as  the  quicken- 
ing and  enlightening  influence  of  Revelation  may 
be  in  this  direction,  it  is  the  function  of  Natural 
Theology  to  set  forth  the  grounds  of  theism  and 
what  reasons  exist  for  believing  man  to  be  im- 
mortal. Nor  is  it  our  purpose  to  take  up  the  ques- 
tion of  the  insjpiration  of  the  Scriptures — the  ques- 
tion whether,  and  to  what  extent,  the  authors  of 
the  books  of  the  Bible  were  aided  by  the  Spirit  of 
God  in  the  composition  of  them.  This  is  an  im- 
portant topic  of  theology,  but  it  is  not  involved  in 
our  present  undertaking.  Nor,  once  more,  is  it 
necessary  to  inquire  whether  or  not  the  Gospel 
narratives  are  free  from  discrepancies  and  like  im- 
perfections, such  as  pertain  in  some  degree  to  the 
most  trustworthy  historical  writings.  The  sub- 
stantial verity  of  the  New  Testament  histories  is 
the  only  point  that  we  are  at  present  called  upon 
to  establish.     We  may  illustrate  these  distinctionB, 


WHAT  IS  TO  BE  PIIOVED.  3 

John  Marshall  wrote  the  Life  of  Washington.  He 
had  personally  known  Washington  and,  besides,  re- 
sorted to  authentic  documents  and  to  otlier  sources 
of  information.  Marshall  was  an  intelligent  and 
upright  man.  Hence  the  biography  which  he  com- 
posed is  substantially  accurate.  It  is  conceivable, 
however,  that  Washington  should  have  himself 
read  the  proof-sheets,  and  (supposing  his  own  mem- 
ory to  be  perfect)  have  removed  all  errors,  even  the 
most  minute,  or  even  that  he  should  have  dictated 
the  entire  biography,  with  the  exception  of  the  ac- 
count of  his  own  death.  But  the  author,  whether 
he  wrote  with  these  special  advantages  or  not,  was 
so  placed  as  to  be  qualified  to  produce  a  narrative 
which  should  be  in  all  its  material  features  correct. 
Meaning  of  ^^  ^'^^  Evidcnccs  of  Christianity  are 

ne^^"a^ndof  includcd  the  proofs  of  the  genuineness 
••Credibility."  ^^^^  ^j  ^^^^  cTedihility  of  the  Ncw  Testa- 

ment  writings.  A  writing  is  genuine  if  it  was  writ- 
ten by  the  author  to  whom  it  is  ascribed.  But  it  is 
well  to  remark  that  a  narrative  may  be  credible^  or 
authentic^  even  if  the  ordinary  view  taken  of  its 
authorship  is  mistaken.  If  Julius  Caesar's  Com- 
mentaries, in  which  he  speaks  of  himself  in  the 
third  person,  were  to  be  found  to  have  been  writ- 
ten, not  by  him,  but  by  an  intelligent  and  truth- 
ful Roman  oflBcer  who  was  with  him  through  the 
Gallic  wars,  or  even  by  some  competent  person 
to  whom  Caesar  had  related  the  facts,  that  work, 


4  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES. 

although  not  genuine^  would  still  be  authentic.  Ee. 
specting  the  New  Testament  histories,  the  main 
point  to  be  first  established  is  that  they  present  fair- 
ly the  testimony  of  the  Apostles,  the  immediate  com- 
panions of  Jesus.  The  question  of  the  authorship 
of  these  books  is  important,  but  that  of  their  date 
and  of  other  circumstances  relating  to  their  origin 
and  early  reception,  are  of  more  vital  consequence. 
The  proofs  of  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  histories 
are  of  the  same  kind  as  those  on  which  our  be- 
lief in  other  historical  works  is  founded. 

What  is  hifl"  -r-r 

toricaievi-  Wc  rcquiro  as  the  warrant  for  believing 
in  such  narratives  that  they  shall  rest 
upon  credible  testimony  of  witnesses  or  well-in- 
formed contemporaries.  A  certain  value  belongs  to 
tradition — a  value  varying  with  the  degree  of  near- 
ness of  the  events,  and  in  some  measure  with  other 
circumstances.  Moreover,  a  great  many  things  may 
serve  to  corroborate — or  else  to  disprove — historical 
statements.  Occurrences,  if  they  are  of  a  very  im- 
portant character,  produce  effects  upon  society  in  a 
great  many  different  ways.  These  effects  remain  as 
monuments  of  the  events  in  which  they  had  their 
origin.  Thus,  the  great  fact  of  the  War  of  the 
American  devolution  is  attested  by  the  existence 
of  the  Republic  of  the  United  States,  and  by  the 
character  of  its  institutions,  not  to  dwell  on  minor 
consequences,  such  as  the  public  observances  which 
commemorate  the  birth  of  the  nation. 


NATURE  OF  THE  EVIDENCE,  5 

The  evidences  of  Christianitj,  like  historical 
proofs    generally,    are   jprobable^    as   distinguished 

from  demonstrative.  In  the  case  of  de- 
probabieevi-    inonstrativo  proof,   the   opposite   of  the 

thing  asserted  is  not  only  false ;  it  is  in- 
conceivable. This  is  not  true  of  anything  depend- 
ing on  probable  or  moral  evidence.  There  are  de- 
grees of  probability.  Thus  we  say  of  one  thing 
that  it  is  ''  slightly  probable ; "  of  another,  that  it 
is  "  very  probable  ; "  and  of  a  third,  that  it  is  ''  ex- 
tremely," or  "  in  the  highest  degree  "  probable.  It 
should  be  observed,  however,  that  in  numberless 
cases  where  the  evidence  is  of  the  kind  termed 
"  probable,''  we  are  absolutely  free  from  doubt. 
We  may  never  have  seen  London,  but  we  have  not 
a  whit  more  doubt  that  London  exists  than  we  have 
that  the  sum  of  the  three  angles  of  a  triangle  is 
equal  to  two  right  angles.  We  never  saw  Napo- 
leon the  First,  but  we  are  not  less  certain  that  Na- 
poleon lived  than  we  are  that  two  parallel  lines, 
however  prolonged,  will  never  meet.  To  entertain 
a  doubt  on  the  one  proposition  would  be  as  deci- 
sive a  proof  of  insanity  as  to  entertain  a  doubt  on 
the  other. 

The  proofs  of  Christianity  are  cumulative.  This 
is  a  circumstance  which  inquirers  and  disputants 
The  evidence  ^ro  Very  apt  to  overlook.^  In  regard  to 
cumulative.  ^]i  \]^q  main  propositious  involved  in  the 
case,  the  evidence  is  made  up  of  many  particulars, 


6  CHRISTIAN  E  VIDENCES. 

all  together  pointing  to  the  same  conclusion.  Un« 
der  this  head  there  are  two  mistakes  to  be  avoided. 
One  consists  in  demanding  a  demonstration  for 
each  item  in  the  evidence,  where,  in  the  nature  of 
things,  no  demonstration  is  possible.  The  other 
mistake,  w^hich  is  hardly  less  grave,  is  in  isolating 
each  particular  of  proof,  as  if  it  stood  by  itself.  It 
is  the  old  error  of  assuming  that  because  a  single 
rod  may  perchance  be  broken,  the  w^hole  bundle  is 
equally  fragile. 

The  proofs  of  Christianity  are  either  internal^  or 
external.  The  external  evidence  is  the  testimony, 
"External"  simply  cousidcred,  to  the  facts  wdiich  are 
imr'Ell^'''  related  in  the  Gospels.  The  internal 
donee.  evidence  includes  everything  in  the  sys- 

tem of  Christianity  itself  which  is  adapted  to  in- 
spire faith  in  its  truth  and  divine  origin.  ''  Chris- 
tianity is  founded  upon  certain  great  primary  wants 
and  affections  of  the  human  soul,  which  it  meets, 
to  which  it  corresponds,  and  of  which  it  furnislies 
the  proper  objects  and  satisfactions.  There  is  the 
feeling  after  a  God  ;  there  is  the  instinct  of  prayer ; 
there  is  conscience  and  the  sense  of  sin ;  there  is 
the  longing  for  and  dim  expectation  of  immortality. 
Christianity  supplies  the  counterpart  of  these  affec- 
tions and  wants  of  the  soul,  and  it  is  as  supplying 
this  counterpart  that  it  recommends  itself  in  the 
first  instance  to  us ;  it  appeals  to  our  belief  upon 
the  strength  of  its  own  characteristics,  at  the  same 


NATVUE  OF  THE  EVIDENCE.  7 

time  that  it  comes  before  us  as  a  subject  of  exter- 
nal evidence.  The  nature  of  Christianity,  and  its 
correspondence  to  our  own  nature,  has  a  legitimate 
influence  upon  our  minds,  before  any  other  con- 
sideration; it  is  one  part  of  the  whole  Christian 
evidence,  and  a  valid  and  necessary  part,  without 
which  the  other,  or  the  historical  proof,  is  reason- 
ably and  logically  deficient."  * 

It  will  be  generally  acknowledged  that  for  the  due 

appreciation  of  the  evidences  of  Revelation,  earnest 

attention   and  a  candid  temper  are  req- 

The  affections        .,  _.  _  r/. 

as  a  source  of   uisitc.     it  must  be  added  that  the  aiiec- 

proof.  .  «  T  .         T  .     . 

tions  form  one  element  m  determinmg 
the  judgment.  On  other  subjects  it  is  true  that 
the  data  for  a  judgment  must  be  drawn  in  part 
from  other  sources  than  the  understanding.  It  is 
plain  that  in  deciding  questions  in  the  fine  arts — 
such  as  the  genuineness  of  a  painting  or  the  merit 
of  a  piece  of  music — a  sympathetic  tact,  native  or 
acquired,  is  demanded.  The  like  is  true  respecting 
questions  where  the  moral  excellence,  whether  of 
teaching  or  of  personal  character,  is  involved.  The 
evidence  is  made  up  in  part  of  impressions,  and 
these  depend  on  the  inward  state  of  the  person  who 
is  to  pass  judgment.  "  We  cannot  possibly  enter 
deeply  into  character  without  affections  ;  we  cannot 
estimate  or  comprehend  truly,  we  cannot  embrace 
keenly  and  with  a  living  force,  what  is  beautiful, 

*  J.  B.  Mozley's  Lectures  and  other  Theological  Papers,  p.  3. 


8  CHRTSTTAN  FVTDENCE8. 

profound,  and  touching  in  the  mind  and  disposition 
of  any  person  of  extraordinary  goodness,  unless 
there  are  affections  in  us  which  enable  us  to  seize 
hold  of  their  moral  traits,  and  inspire  us  with  a 
vivid  admiration  and  appreciation  of  them."'  In 
all  such  cases,  when  one  is  confronted  with  moral 
evidence,  there  is  a  probation  of  character. 

ilbid.,  page  8. 


CHAPTER  IL 

WHAT   IS   MEANT   BY   MIRACLES?      THE   POSSIBILITY   OF   THEM, 
AND   THE   POSSIBILITY   OF    PROVING    THEM. 

The  most  common  objection  both  to  the  genuine- 
ness and  the  credibility  of  the  New  Testament  his- 
tories is  from  the  accounts  of  miracles,  which  they 
contain.  It  is  expedient,  at  the  outset,  to  consider 
what  weight  belongs  to  this  objection,  and  also  to  de- 
termine what  place  should  be  assigned  to  miracles 
among  the  proofs  of  revelation. 

What  is  a  miracle  ?  A  miracle  is  an  event  which 
Definition  of  ^^^^  f  orccs  of  nature — including  the  nat- 
a  miracle.  ^^^j  powcrs  of  man — cauuot  of  themselves 
produce,  and  which  must,  therefore,  be  referred  to 
a  supernatural  agency.  Or,  in  the  briefer  phrase  of 
Pascal,  a  miracle  is  an  event  exceeding  the  natural 
power  of  the  means  employed.  If  the  event  is  of 
such  a  character,  or  takes  place  under  such  circum- 
stances, as  to  exclude  the  supposition  of  a  superhu- 
man created  agent  as  its  cause,  then  it  must  be  in- 
ferred that  God  is  its  author.  It  should  be  added,  to 
complete  the  idea  of  a  miracle,  that  it  is  something 
manifest — something  that  can  be  known  and  appre- 


10  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES, 

bended  by  men.  Tbere  is  a  course  of  nature — a 
natural  order — the  same  antecedents  being  followed 
by  the  same  consequents.  This  order  of  succession 
we  call  the  uniformity  of  nature.  It  enables  us,  on 
the  ground  of  previous  observation,  to  predict  what 
will  occur.  In  an  atmosphere  of  32°  Fahrenheit 
water  will  freeze.  In  a  warmer  atmosphere  it  will 
remain  fluid.  A  body  of  less  specific  gravity  than 
the  air  will  rise ;  a  body  of  greater  specific  grav- 
ity than  the  air  will  fall.  A  deviation  in  any  in- 
stance from  this  order  of  sequences  is  what  is 
meant  by  a  miracle.  But  to  fill  out  the  ordinary 
signification  of  the  word,  the  fact  must  occur  in  con- 
nection with  religious  teaching,  or  as  a  verification 
of  the  claim  of  a  religious  teacher  to  a  divine  com- 
New  Testa-  Hiissiou.  lu  the  N"ew  Testament,  three 
ment  terms,  tcrms  are  uscd  to  denote  miracles.  They 
are  called  "wonders,"  primarily  in  reference  to 
the  astonishment  which  they  produce;  "powers,'' 
as  related  to  the  divine  energy  to  which  they  are 
due ;  and  "  signs,"  or  tokens  of  God's  presence  and 
of  the  sanction  thus  afforded  to  the  teacher  or  to 
what  is  taught.* 

It  is  contended  by  some  that  a  miracle  is  impos- 
sible ;  by  others  that,  even  if  it  be  not  impossible, 
it  can  never  be  proved. 

J  For  example:  "Signs  and  wonders '*  (John  iv.  48);  "powers" 
(Matt.  xi.  20,  Revised  Version,  in  the  margin).  The  rendering  of  the 
original  word  (found  in  Matt.  xi.  20,  etc.)  is  usually  "mighty  works.'* 


POSSIBILITY  OF  MIRACLES.  11 

1.  It  is  said  that  an  event  not  produced  by  nat- 
ural laws  would  be  an  event  without  a  cause.     But 
what  is  natural  law  ?     By  natural  law  is 

Not  an  event        .  i       n       /»    i  »  c 

without  a        simply  meant  the  method  or  the  action  or 

cause. 

natural  forces.  Laws  are  another  name 
for  the  established  sequences— that  is,  the  custom- 
ary succession — of  natural  phenomena.  When  a 
miracle  occurs^  a  new  cause  intervenes — viz.,  a  spe- 
cial exertion  of  divine  power,  the  power  of  the 
Creator  and  Upholder  of  nature.  There  is  not 
even  a  violation  of  natural  laws,  in  the  proper 
sense  of  the  phrase  ;  for  every  statement  of  natural 
law,  and  every  prediction  of  what  is  to  occur  un- 
der it,  are  made  with  the  proviso^  or  on  the  tacit 
supposition,  that  there  is  to  be  no  intervention  of  a 
supernatural  agent.  A  miracle  nowise  contradicts 
the  axiom  that  in  nature  the  same  causes,  under  the 
same  circumstances,  are  followed  by  the  same  ef- 
fects. In  the  case  of  a  miracle,  the  effect  is  differ- 
ent because  the  causes  are  not  the  same.  The  va- 
riation in  the  effect  is  what  must  take  place,  sup- 
posing such  an  alteration  of  the  antecedents.  If  a 
new  cause  comes  in,  it  is  irrational  to  look  for  the 
same  effect  as  before. 

As  we  pass  from  one  kingdom  of  nature  to  an- 
other, we  find  that  higher  forces  control  the  action 
of  lower,  so  that  new  effects  are  produced  which 
could  not  otherwise  occur.  Inorganic  nature  in 
this  way  is  subject  to  vital  forces.      The  force  of 


12  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES. 

gravitation,  for  example,  gives  way  under  the  ac- 
tion of  a  superior  agency  of  another  kind.      Out 
of  the  seed  rises  the  stalk  of  the  plant. 

Forces  over-       t  r  ^       i  i  it  r 

come  by  forces  If  WO  had  uo  knowled2:e  of  orp:anic  nat- 

iu  nature.  ^  ^ 

ure,  we  might  be  led  to  deny  the  pos- 
sibility of  such  a  fact  as  the  movement  upward 
of  a  growing  tree,  despite  the  force  of  gravita- 
tion. 

The  human  will  affords  the  most  striking  illus- 
tration of  the  possibility  of  a  miracle.  The  will,  as 
„    ^  related  to  material  forces,  is  a  distinct  and 

The  human  ^  ^ 

will,  super-  hiorher  power,  and  as  thus  related  is  super- 
natural, or  ...  , 

natural.      It  initiates  movements  in  the 

realm  of  nature.  It  produces  results — countless  in 
number  and  variety — which  would  not  have  come 
into  being  independently  of  its  action.  When  a  boy 
throws  a  ball  into  the  air,  gravitation  is  overcome 
by  forces  set  in  motion  by  a  human  volition.  "Who- 
ever bakes  a  loaf  of  bread  brings  into  being  a  thing 
which  the  bare  forces  of  nature,  not  controlled  and 
assisted  by  man's  will,  could  not  have  produced. 
In  this  way  human  will-power  creates  all  that  goes 
under  the  comprehensive  name  of  art  From  the 
least  motion  of  a  finger,  in  obedience  to  volition,  to 
the  most  complex  contrivances  of  mechanical  genius, 
from  the  building  of  a  wigwam  to  the  erection  of  a 
Gothic  cathedral,  from  the  management  of  a  vil- 
lage-school to  the  leading  of  armies  and  the  govern- 
ment of  nations — in  a  word,  wherever  the  effects  of 


POSSIBILITY  OF  MIRACLES.  13 

human  will  appear,  there  are  beheld  phenomena 
whicli  the  laws  of  natm-e — apart  from  the  guidance, 
combination,  and  control  of  them  by  man's  will — 
could  never  have  brought  into  being.  A  miracle, 
where  there  is  an  interposition  of  the  divine  will,  is 
not  anti-natural,  but  super-natural. 

2.  But  it  is  objected  that  the  invariability  of  nat- 
ure— when  the  human  will  with  its  range  of  activ- 
The  uniform-  ^^^^^  ^^  iucludcd — is  a  trutli  wliich  it  is 
ity  of  nature,  absurd  to  Call  in  question.  This  objec- 
tion assumes  that  the  uniformity  of  nature  is  in- 
tuitively know^n,  is  a  necessary  truth,  and  stands 
thus  on  a  level  with  mathematical  axioms.  Ko 
sound  philosopher  will  make  such  an  assertion. 
Our  belief  that  the  course  of  things  is  uniform  is 
based  on  observation  and  experience,  coupled  with 
an  instinctive  confidence  in  the  indications — indicia 
— of  nature,  like  the  trust  which  w^e  put  in  the  signs 
of  thought  when  we  are  in  communication  with 
human  beings.  A  child  who  has  once  burned  his 
finger  in  the  flame,  knows  that  if  he  makes  a  second 
experiment  of  the  same  sort,  the  same  result  will 
occur.  We  naturally  assume  that  nature  is  an  or- 
derly system,  that  it  is  conformed  to  a  plan,  and  is 
not  made  to  deceive  us.  Our  belief  in  the  uni- 
formity of  nature  justifies  a  presumption  that  there 
will  be  (and  has  been)  no  departure  from  it.  This 
presumption,  however,  may  be  overruled  and  set 
aside,  wherever  reasons  exist  which  would  make  it 


14  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES. 

wise  in  the  Author  and  Euler  of  Nature  to  inter« 
vene. 

3.  It  is  objected  that  a  miracle  would  be  a  con- 
travention by  God  of  the  laws  of  nature  which  He 
Miracle  and  ^^^®  liimself  established.  Even  were  it 
natural  law.     g^^  ^j^g  j^^^g  ^-f  jj^turo  arc  uot  inoTol  laws. 

An  interference  with  them  would  not  involve  in 
itself  any  moral  wrong.  The  foregoing  remarks 
show  how  one  class  of  natural  forces  may  counter- 
act and  govern  the  action  of  another,  or  the  results 
to  be  produced  by  that  action.  Moreover,  Natural 
Theology  teaches  that  natural  laws  do  not  exist  for 
their  own  sake.  The  end  of  material  nature  is  not 
in  itself.  A  "law"  is  merely  a  name  for  the  way 
in  which  things  ordinarily  occur.  On  the  supposi- 
tion that  a  higher  good  is  to  be  secured  by  a  devi- 
ation from  the  course  of  nature,  there  is  no  moral 
objection  to  such  an  act  on  the  part  of  God.  If  this 
objection  had  any  weight,  it  would  tend  to  prove 
not  the  natural^  but  only  the  moral  impossibility  of 
miracles.  But  the  objection  is  stripped  of  its  plau- 
sibility the  moment  one  admits  that  there  is  a  moral 
government  of  the  world  as  well  as  an  administering 
of  physical  laws.  Nature  is  not  a  thing  by  itself. 
It  is  only  one  province  in  the  whole  divine  system. 
The  motives  that  dictate  the  establishment  and 
maintenance  of  the  course  of  nature  may  require 
that  it  should  not  be  absolutely  without  interrup- 
tion. 


MIRACLES   CAPABLE  OF  PROOF.  15 

4.  Hume  made  a  celebrated  argument  against 
the  possibility  of  proving  miracles  by  testimony, 
Hume's  argu-  altliougli  the  samc  argument  had  long  be- 
ment.  j^^^  bccu  statcd  and  answered  in  one  of 

South's  sermons/  Our  belief  in  the  uniformity  of 
nature,  Hume  said,  rests  on  experience.  Our  belief 
in  testimony  has  the  same  foundation.  But  the  ex- 
perience of  the  uniformity  of  nature  is  without  any 
exception  ;  whereas,  we  have  had  experience  of  the 
error  of  human  testimony.  Hence  he  concluded 
that  no  amount  of  testimony  could  prove  a  mir- 
acle ;  for,  if  we  suppose  the  amount  of  evidence  of 
this  sort  to  be  never  so  great,  still  the  supposi- 
tion of  its  falsehood  would  imply  at  most  nothing 
greater  than  a  miracle,  and  so  we  should  have  a 
miracle  to  balance  a  miracle. 

Hume's  argument  involves  several  mistakes  and 

fallacies.     Our  belief  in  testimony  does  not  grow 

out  of  experience,  althouo-h  as  the  result 

Its  f aUacies.  .  ^  .       /  ^  °     _         „  . 

01  experience  it  is  regulated.  JNor  does 
our  belief  in  the  uniformity  of  nature  spring  exclu- 
sively or  ultimately  from  this  source.  On  Hume's 
philosophy  no  reason  can  be  assigned  for  expecting 
the  course  of  nature  to  remain  unaltered.  Why 
should  the  future  be,  and  the  past  have  been,  con- 
formed to  what  we  observe  at  present  ?  We  grant, 
however,  that  there  is  a  rational  presumption  in 
iJavor  of  the  uniformity  of  nature,  and  against  the 

*  South's  Sermon  on  The  Certainty  of  our  Saviour's  Resurrection. 


16  CHRISTIAN  liVIDENCES. 

occurrence  of  a  miracle.  The  very  word  "  miracle," 
pointing  to  the  wonder  excited  by  such  an  event, 
implies  a  counter-expectation.  But  when  Hume 
assumes  that  experience  is  uniform  against  the  oc- 
currence of  miracles,  he  begs  the  question.  The 
evidence  for  the  unbroken  uniformity  of  nature,  as 
J.  S.  Mill  has  correctly  stated,  is  diminished  in 
force  by  whatever  weight  belongs  to  the  evidence 
that  certain  miracles  have  taken  place. ^  Hume 
separates  a  miracle  from  every  conceivable  object. 
He  looks  at  it  as  a  perfectly  isolated  occurrence — 
a  bare  marvel.  His  fundamental  error  consists  in 
arguing  the  question  on  the  tacit  assumption  of 
atheism.  He  ignores  the  existence  of  a  cause  ade- 
quate to  work  miracles,  and,  of  course,  the  exist- 
ence of  any  motive  or  occasion  for  them  to  be 
wrought.  If  the  righteous  God,  whose  existence 
and  attributes  are  verified  in  Natural  Theology, 
could  be  deemed  as  likely  to  subvert  the  laws  which 
justify  belief  in  human  testimony,  as — for  example 
— to  heal  a  man  born  blind,  in  order  to  furnish  a 
sign  and  proof  that  salvation  has  been  provided 
from  spiritual  darkness  and  sin,  Hume's  reasoning 
would  be  more  plausible.  In  other  words,  he  virt- 
ually takes  it  for  granted  that  one  miracle — a  mir- 
acle for  a  purpose  of  deception — is  as  much  to  be 
expected  as  another  miracle,  wrought  for  a  worthy 
and  merciful  end.     All  that  Hume  has  made  out, 

*  Mill's  System  of  Logic,  vol.  ii.,  p.  185. 


MIRACLES  CAPABLE  OF  PROOF,  37 

as  Mill  explains,  is  that  no  evidence  can  prove  a 
miracle  to  an  atheist,  or  to  a  deist  who  supposes 

himself  able  to  prove  that  God  would  not 
Hume'8  argu-  interfere  to  produce  the  miraculous  event 

in  question.  Mill  adds  truly  "  that  nat- 
ural religion  is  the  necessary  basis  of  revealed  ;  that 
the  proofs  of  Christianity  presuppose  the  being  and 
moral  attributes  of  God  ;  that  it  is  the  conformity 
of  a  religion  to  those  attributes  which  determines 
whether  credence  ought  be  given  to  its  external 
evidences."  * 

Professor  Huxley,  in  his  comments  on  Hume, 
objects  to  Hume's  definition  of  a  miracle  as  a  vio- 
„    ,  ,  lation  of  the  laws  of  nature,  "  because  all 

Huxley's  po-  ' 

Bition.  ^Q  know  of  the  order  of  nature  is  derived 

from  an  observation  of  the  course  of  events  of 
which  the  so-called  miracle  is  a  part."  '^  He  ad- 
mits that  an  event  of  this  character  is  capable  of 
being  proved  by  testimony ;  but  he  appears  to  think 
that,  if  thus  established,  it  would  be  an  occurrence 
under  the  laws  of  nature,  and  would  be  referable  to 
natural  causes.  This  explanation,  however,  in  many 
conceivable  cases,  would  be  irrational.  If  a  man  is 
known  to  be  dead  and  is  awakened  to  life  at  the 
command  of  another,  the  effect  could  not  be  re- 
ferred to  natural  causes.  If  it  could,  a  superhuman 
knowledge   of  natural  causes  would  have  to  be  as* 

»  Miirs  System  of  Logic,  vol.  ii,  p.  186. 
«  Huxley's  Hume,  p.  131. 
2 


18  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES. 

cribed  to  him  who  gave  the  command,  and  this 
would  involve  miracle.  The  coincidence  of  the  oc- 
Miracie  cniTcnce  witli  the  word  or  act  of  a  person 

proves  design,  a  pj.^ygg  (Jesign  in  the  marvel,  and  makes 
it  a  miracle ;  and  if  that  person  professes  to  reporti^ 
a  message  or  revelation  from  heaven,  the  coinci- 
dence again  of  the  miracle  with  the  professed  mes- 
sage of  God  proves  design  on  the  part  of  God  to 
warrant  and  authorize  the  message."  That  is  to 
say,  the  occurrence  of  the  marvel  at  the  moment 
when  the  man  is  bidden  to  arise  cannot  be  a  Tnere 
coincidence. 

5.  The  question  is  sometimes  asked.  How  can  we 

be  certain  that  an  effect  which  exceeds  the  power  of 

natural  causes,  does  not  sprint:  from  the 

Can  evil  spir-  -i      i      •         q 

Its  work  mir-  agcucj  01  a  superhumau  evil  beings 
There  are  certain  miracles,  such,  in  par- 
ticular, as  imply  the  exertion  of  creative  power, 
which  it  appears  unreasonable  to  attribute  to  any 
created  being.  But,  apart  from  this  consideration, 
there  may  be  collateral  proof — moral  evidence — • 
that  shows  the  miracle  to  be  the  work  of  no  evil 
being,  and  of  no  other  being  than  God.  It  is  to 
such  evidence  that,  according  to  the  Gospel  narra- 
tive, Jesus  appeals  in  answer  to  the  allegation  that 
his  miracles  were  wrought  by  the  help  of  evU 
spirits.* 

»  Matt.  xu.  25,  26 ;  Mark  xiii.  23,  24 ;  Luke  xL  17, 18. 


FUNCTION  OF  MIRACLES.  19 

What  is  the  distinctive  office  and  place  of  mir- 
acles among  the  evidences  of  Kevelation  ?     In  the 
first  place,  it  is  plain  that  Revelation,  as  distin- 
guished from  the  manifestation  of  God  in 
miracles  and    tlic  coursc  of  naturo  and  the  ordinary  do- 

f  rom  doctrine.  .      ,       .  ,  , 

ings  of  Providence,  is  in  its  very  idea  mi- 
raculous. It  is  a  more  direct  disclosure  of  God  tlian 
is  elsewhere  afforded.  This  fact  of  the  presence  and 
more  immediate  agency  of  God  in  connection  with 
religious  doctrine  is  signified  to  the  senses  by  works 
of  supernatural  power.  These  works  corroborate 
the  evidence  furnished  by  the  doctrine  itself,  and 
by  all  the  proofs  of  a  moral  nature  that  attend  the 
promulgation  of  it.  Miracles  are  aids  to  faith. 
They  come  in  with  decisive  effect  to  convince  those 
who  are  impressed  by  the  moral  evidence  that  they 
are  not  deceived,  and  that  God  is  in  reality  speak- 
ing through  men.  According  to  the  New  Testa- 
ment histories  it  was  in  this  light  that  miracles 
were  regarded  by  Jesus.  Where  there  w^as  no  spir- 
itual preparation,  no  dawning  faith,  he  refused  to 
perform  miracles.  He  set  the  highest  value  upon 
the  moral  proofs.*  Yet  he  considered  the  miracles 
to  be  of  use  in  proving  himself  to  be  the  messenger 
of  God  and  to  have  power  committed  to  him  to 
forgive  sin.' 

>  John  xiv.  11. 

•  Matt.  ix.  6;  Mark  u,  10;  Luke  Ix.  31 


20  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES. 

Thus  it  appears  that  while  the  doctrine  proved 
the  miracles  the  miracles  prove  the  doctrine.  They 
Mutual  sup.  ^^^  *^^  mutually  supporting  species  of 
toe^and^mir-  P^^of.  Tlicy  are  both  parts  of  one  mani- 
acies.  festation  of  God,  neither  of  which  is  to 

be  relied  upon  to  the  exclusion  of  the  other,  as  if 
the  other  were  of  no  value. 


CHAPTER  m. 

HOW  THE  ANTECEDENT   PRESUMPTION   AGAINST   THE  OCCUE- 
KENCE   OF   MIRACLES    IS   SET   ASIDE, 

By  a  presumption  is  meant  such  a  previous  like- 
lihood that  a  given  statement  is  true  or  false  as 
iustly  predisposes  one  to  believe  or  to  re* 

Meaning  of         .  .  ^  i 

'Ipresump-  ject  it.  Oil  tlio  ground  of  some  prin- 
ciple, or  prior  conviction,  v^hich  is  based 
on  evidence,  we  bring  to  the  consideration  of  a  ques- 
tion a  favorable  or  an  adverse  pre-judgment.  This 
may  have  different  degrees  of  strength,  varying  with 
the  character  of  the  evidence  on  which  it  rests.  If 
we  hear  that  one  known  to  be  a  miser  has  made 
a  large  gift  to  the  poor,  or  that  one  known  to  be 
a  generous  philanthropist  has  refused  to  relieve  a 
worthy  person  who  was  in  distress,  there  is  a  pre 
sumption  in  each  case  that  the  report  is  false.  AVhat 
gives  rise  to  the  presumption  against  the  truth  of  the 
proposition  that  a  miracle  has  occurred  is  the  known 
fact  of  the  uniformity  of  nature  and  the  obvious 
benefit  of  such  an  arrangement.  On  the  ground  of 
this  faith  in  an  established  course  of  nature,  we  feel 
justified  in  passing  over,  without  credence,  and  even 


22  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES. 

without  inquiry,  stories  of  miracles  which  are  met 
with  in  historians  whose  records  of  ordinary  occur- 
rences we  have  no  hesitation  in  believing.  We  give 
credit  to  what  Tacitus  relates  about  the  wars  of 
Yespasian,  but  when  he  tells  the  story  of  the  heal- 
ing of  a  blind  man  by  that  Emperor,  we  smile  at 
the  tale,  or  at  most  try  to  conjecture  in  what  way 
the  erroneous  report  had  arisen.  To  set  aside  this 
presumption  against  the  miraculous,  it  is  requisite 
that  we  should  discern  the  need  of  a  Revelation  and 
appreciate  in  some  degree  the  intrinsic  excellence 
of  the  Christian  system.  Then  the  way  will  be 
open  to  examine  the  evidence  which  shows  that  the 
miracles  recorded  in  the  New  Testament  were  actu- 
ally wrought. 

"I  deem  it  unnecessary  to  prove,"  says  Paley, 
^^  that  mankind  stood  in  need  of  a  revelation,  be- 
cause I  have  met  with  no  serious  person 
probability  of  ^ho  tliiuks  that,  eveu  under  the  Chris- 

revelation.  ^  ^  ' 

tian  revelation,  we  have  too  much  light, 
or  any  degree  of  persuasion  which  is  superfluous." 
The  anterior  probability  that  a  revelation  will  be 
given  lies  in  the  necessitous  condition  of  man  and 
the  benevolent  character  of  God. 

There  is  no  interest  of  man  so  important  as  re- 
ligion. It  is  vitally  connected  with  his  obligations 
and  his  destiny.  In  relation  to  this  subject  there 
are  four  principal  sources  of  anxiety  and  distress. 
The  first  is  the  vagueness  and  uncertainty^  of  man's 


TEE  NEED   OF  REVELATION,  2S 

knowledge,  under  the  light  of  nature,  of  God  and 
divine  things.     The  question  is  not  what  is  theoret- 
ically vossihle  to  be  ascertained  on  these 

The  need  of  ,  ,  ,  r      i 

revelation.      tlieuies,  or  wliat  tlio  oxtout  01  the  native 

Four  pointP :  '  , 

1.  The  need     power  of  reasou  IS,  but  rather  what  man, 

of  knowledge.    *■  , 

in  his  present  condition  and  character,  act- 
ually does  discover  or  can  be  expected  to  discover. 
We  find  that  there  is  neither  absolute  ignorance  and 
a  satisfied  state  of  ignorance,  nor  is  there  such  a 
vividness  and  certainty  of  conviction  as  give  rest 
to  the  mind  and  furnish  an  adequate  incentive  to 
right  conduct.  Man  ^' feels  after  God,"  gropes  in 
the  dark  as  for  an  object  of  which  he  knows  some- 
thing, but  which  he  cannot  find  and  grasp.  We 
perceive  that  men  oscillate  between  gross  super- 
stition and  a  dismal  unbelief.  On  the  question 
of  the  immortality  of  the  soul  there  is  a  like  uncer- 
tainty, a  mixture  of  hope  and  doubt.  This  was 
the  position  of  a  man  so  virtuous  and  elevated  as 
Socrates. 

There  is,  besides,  a  sense  of  unworthiness  which 
haunts  the  mind  and  often  becomes  an  oppressive 
J?.  The  gum  burden.  There  is  a  sense  of  guilt  which 
reveals  itself  in  the  rites  of  the  religions  of 
the  heathen  nations.  It  is  the  consciousness  of  be- 
ing unreconciled  to  the  Power  on  whom  we  depend 
and  to  whom  a  more  or  less  distinct  feeling  of  re- 
sponsibility prevails  among  mankind. 

Moreover,  there  is  a  feeling  of  discontent  and 


24  CHRIS TIAK  EVIDENCES. 

helplessness  under  the  dominion  which  evil  has  ac« 
quired  in  the  heart.  There  is  a  bondage  of  habit 
8  Thobond-  wliicli  ofton  gives  rise  to  an  ineffectual 
age  of  sin.  struggle  and  to  a  craving  for  supernatural 
help.  A  heathen  poet  expresses  the  sense  of  this 
slavery,  when  he  says :  "  I  see  and  approve  what  is 
good ;  I  do  what  is  evil." 

"  Video  meliora  proboqne  ; 
Deteriora  sequor." — Ovn). 

Even  Byron  speaks  of 

"  This  uneradicable  taint  of  sin, 
This  boundless  upas,  this  all-blasting  tree — " 

In  addition  to  these  necessities  of  the  soul,  there 

is  the  need,  under  the  sufferings  of  life,  of  sources 

of  strenp-th,  such  as  the  lisiht  of  nature 

4.  The  burden  rr       ^         ^  nn 

of  pain  and     doos  uot  afford.     Eolief  under  afflictions, 

Borrow.  ,  .  « 

peace  m  sorrow,  salvation  from  despond- 
ency, are  wants  wliicli  are  deeply  felt. 

We  cannot  dwell  on  these  great  facts  respecting 
mankind.  IS^o  one  who  interrogates  his  own  con- 
science, and  looks  abroad  on  the  world  and  over  the 
field  of  history,  can  fail  to  be  impressed  by  them. 

While  there  is  a  great  need  of  man  to  be  sup- 
plied, a  need  which  experience  proves  that  he 
Thebenevo-  canuot  himsclf  supply  through  his  own 
lenceofGod.  -ui^aided  powers,  there  are,  likewise,  in- 
dications in  nature  of  the  benevolence  of  God. 


WHAT  CHRISTIANITY  DOES.  25 

This  character  is  brought  to  light  in  the  teach- 
ings of  T^atural  Theology.  Even  heathen  writers 
— for  example,  Plutarch — have  written  on  the  De- 
lay of  God  in  pnnishing  the  wicked,  and  have  in* 
ferred  His  compassion  and  desire  to  save  the  nn^ 
worthy. 

The  way  in  which  Christianity  meets  the  deep 
wants  of  human  nature  which  have  been  briefly  de- 
scribed, is  one  strong  proof  of  its  divine 

Christianity  ,       ^  ^    \ 

meets  the        oriorm.     It  forms  an  important   portion 

needs  of  man,       «•,.  -,  ,  ^  r     ^  i         r 

of  the  internal  evidence  of  the  truth  oi 
the  Gospel,  and  of  its  being  a  revelation  from  God. 
But  in  this  place,  where  we  are  only  considering 
whether  there  is  a  probability  that  miracles  will 
occur — such  a  probability  as  sets  aside  the  contrary 
presumption — we  can  only  call  attention  to  features 
of  the  Christian  system  w^hich  everybody  must  ac- 
knowledge to  exist. 

1.  Christianity  sets  forth  the  main  truths  of  nat- 
ural religion  in  a  clear  and  vivid  form.  The  being 
It  sets  forth  ^^  GoAj  hls  moral  and  providential  gov- 
naturafre-"^^  emmeut,  mau's  accountableness,  the  fut- 
ligion.  ^^.Q  2j£g^  ^^.Q  taught,  and  are  taught  so 
impressively  that,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  multitudes  of 
men  have  been  persuaded  of  their  truth,  and  have 
been  moved  to  cast  aside  heathen  superstitions,  as 
well  as  skepticism  and  disbelief. 

2.  Christianity  does  not  hide  or  extenuate  the 
evil  which  has  been  depicted  above.     It  brings  out 


26  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES. 

with  emphasis  the  sin  and  guilt  of  men,  and  vihuU 
ever  is  distressing  in  their  lot,  including  their  mer- 
it recognizes  tality.  In  short,  Christianity  recognizes 
the  malady,  ^hc  full  extent  of  the  malady  and  pra 
fesses  to  grapple  with  it. 

3.  Christianity  makes  definite  provisions  to  meet 
the  great  wants  which  have  been  specified,  viz.,  the 
Remediespro-  vaguencss  of  our  knowledge  of  God,  the 
vided.  stings  of  conscicnco,  the   need  of  fresh 

incentives,  and  of  spiritual  aid  from  without,  for 
the  confiict  with  evil  habit  within  the  soul,  and  to 
lighten  the  burdens  of  sorrow  and  afiliction. 

,Not  only  does  Christianity  undertake  thus  to 
bring  men  to  a  true  knowledge  of  God  and  fellow- 
ship with  Him,  but  history  shows  that,  in  innumer- 
able instances,  this  result  has  been  effected.  Strength 
to  bear  the  heaviest  troubles  has  been  gained,  to- 
gether with  peace  and  the  light  of  hope  in  the  pres- 
ence of  death. 

The  moral  precepts  of  Christianity  are  conformed 
to  the  dictates  of  conscience.  These  precepts,  as 
The  ethics  of  ^^^  ^^  ^^^^J  relate  to  our  relations  to  one 
Christianity,  auothcr,  may  be  comprised  under  the 
heads  of  veracity,  purity,  kindness.  Sincerity  in 
speech  and  conduct,  chastity  in  thought  and  be- 
havior, benevolence,  sympathy,  charitableness  in 
judgment  and  action,  are  the  leading  injunctions  of 
the  Gospel. 

The  history  of  Christianity  proves  that  the  prae- 


WITAT  CHRISTIANITY  DOES.  27 

tice  of  these  virtues  is  facilitated,  and  the  conquest 

over  the  opposite  vices  is  achieved,  by  means  of 

the  faith  and  liope  of  the  Gospel.     In  other  words, 

the  reli2:ion  of  the  Gospel,  enterins:  into 

Connection  of  ^  .      .  ^       '   .  r       i 

faith  and  mor-  tlic   couvictious   and    experience   of   the 

als.  •*■ 

soul,  is  a  most  effective  instrument  of 
moral  refoi-m.  The  legitimate  result  of  Chris- 
tianity, it  is  not  too  much  to  say,  is  "  a  new  crea- 
tion "  of  spiritual  and  ethical  character. 

These  considerations  are  sufficient  to  neutralize 
the  presumption  against  miracles  in  connection 
with  Christianity  and  to  place  them  on  the  same 
level,  as  regards  proof,  with  matters  of  fact  where 
no  miracle  is  involved.  For,  if  the  miracles  were 
subtracted,  its  distinctive  character  as  a  direct  ap- 
proach of  God  to  man  would  be  lost,  an  essential 
side  of  the  evidence  of  its  truth  would  vanish,  and 
its  practical  efficacy  would  be  to  a  great  extent  par- 
alyzed. In  judging  of  Christianity,  it  is  desirable 
to  remember,  as  Paley  observes,  that  "  the  question 
lies  between  this  religion  and  none ;  for,  if  the 
Christian  religion  be  not  credible,  no  one  with 
whom  we  have  to  do  will  support  the  pretensions 
of  any  other" — certainly  not  the  pretensions  of  any 
other  to  a  supernatural  origin  and  a  miraculous  at- 
testation. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ADMITTED   FACTS   RESPECTING   CHMSTIANITT.  '       ^ 

Before  proceeding  further,  it  is  well  to  remind 
the  reader  how  much  there  is  in  Christianity  that 
is  not  a  subject  of  dispute.  Let  us  glance  at  some 
of  the  admitted  facts.  Christianity  originated  in 
the  short  ministry  of  Jesus  of  I^azareth.  This 
ministry  was  preceded  by  the  preaching  of  John 
the  Baptist,  to  whose  preaching  and  the  effect  of  it 
the  Jewish  historian,  Josephus,  refers.^  Jesus  se- 
lected and  trained  a  small  company  of 
the  life  of  je-  disciplcs,  who,  like  himself,  were  of  a 
humble  rank  in  life.  He  taught  not 
longer  than  about  three  years,  from  place  to  place, 
in  Palestine.  He  was  condemned  by  the  Jewish 
Sanhedrim,  and  was  put  to  death  under  Pontius 
Pilate,  the  Eoman  Procurator  in  Judea.  The  re- 
ligion of  the  Jews,  among  whom  he  was  born  and 
2:rew  up,  was  a  pure  form  of  monotheism. 

The  Jewish       o  r '  1 

religion.  Jn  it  was  involvcd  an  expectation  of  a 
universal  divine  kingdom,  of  which  the  "  Messiah" 
was  to  be  the  head.     Jesus  professed  to  be  the  ex^* 

'Antiq.^  xviii  v.  2. 


ADMITTED  FACTS.  29 

pected  Messiah,  and  on  this  account  he  was  put  to 
death.  His  teachings  and  his  life  had  made  a 
powerful  impression.  Soon  after  his  death  his 
His  alleged  choscu  followcps  testified  that  he  had 
resurrection.  y\^qt\j  and  manifested  himself  to  them. 
This  alleged  fact  they  proclaimed,  and  submitted, 
to  great  sufferings,  and  some  of  them  to  a  cruel 
death,  on  account  of  their  faith  and  of  the  testi- 
mony which  they  gave  respecting  Jesus.  A  few 
Theconver-  J^^rs  after  the  death  of  Jesus,  Saul  of 
sionofPaui.  Xarsus,  wlio  had  been  active  in  persecut- 
ing his  followers,  was  converted  to  the  Christian 
faith,  and  became  an  untiring  and  zealous  preacher 
of  it.  In  the  face  of  persecution  from  Jews  and 
heathen,  and  without  the  advantage  of  support  from 
the  learned,  the  rich,  or  any  other  of  the  influential 
Rapid  Bpread  classes,  the  uow  religion  rapidly  spread  in 
of  the  Gospel,  ^.j^g  ^i^ics  of  the  Eomau  Empire.  The 
Roman  historian,  Tacitus,  informs  us  that  in  the 
time  of  Nero,  the  Christians  who  were  tortured 
and  killed  by  that  tyrant  formed  '^  a  great  multi- 
tude.'' *  This  was  in  64  a.d.  The  younger  Pliny, 
Propraetor  in  Pontus  and  Bithynia,  under  Trajan,  re- 
ports to  the  Emperor,  in  111  a.d.,  that  the  number 
of  Christians  in  that  region  was  so  large  that  the 
heathen  altars  had  been  well-nigh  deserted,  and 
there  had  been  no  market  for  the  sale  of  animals 
for    sacrifice.^     The    Gospel    continued   to    make 

» Annal,  cv.  44.  •  PKn.,  Ep.  97. 


30  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCm. 

progress,  in  spite  of  legal  measures  of  persecution 
and  the  violence  of  mobs,  and  notwithstanding  that 
more  than  one  able  Emperor  engaged  with  energy 
in  systematic  efforts  to  exterminate  its  disciples.  At 
length  the  Emperor  himself,  Constantino,  became 
a  convert,  and  (a.d.  313)  proclaimed  toleration. 
The  old  heathen  religion  of  the  Grseco-Eoman 
world  disappeared.  The  new  barbarian  nations 
which  subverted  Rome  embraced  Christianity.  It 
is  the  religion  of  the  most  powerful  nations,  whom 
it  did  so  much  to  train  and  civilize.  It  is  now  pro- 
fessed by  nearly  a  third  of  the  world's  population. 

Christians  were  united  together  from  the  begin- 
ning in  forms  of  organization.  The  Church  grew 
The  Church  ^^P^  ^^^5  "^^cr  Varying  forms  of  polity 
and  its  rites.  ^^^  modcs  of  worsliip,  lias  perpetuated 
itself  until  the  present  day.  Certain  rites,  such  as 
Baptism,  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  the  observance  of 
Sunday,  have  been  continued  since  the  days  of  the 
Apostles.  Numberless  productions  —  theological, 
devotional,  or  otherwise  practical — have  emanated 
from  Christian  teachers,  or  from  other  Christian 
disciples  in  successive  ages. 

It  is  allowed  that  the  influence  of  Christianity 

has  not  been  superficial,  but  of  a  profound,  ti-ans- 

forming   character   upon    the   individual 

The  inflnence  ^  ,  TiinrvT 

of  Christian-    and  upou  socicty.     It  has  deeply  anected 

art,  literature,  and  laws,  the  sentiments 

and  conduct  of  mankind.     Whatever  evil  has  been 


ADMITTED  FACTS,  31 

done  in  the  name  of  the  Christian  religion,  is  due, 
as  is  generally  conceded,  not  to  that  religion  itself, 
but  to  the  perversion  and  corruption  of  it.  With 
the  possible  exception  of  a  few  eccentric  individ- 
uals, it  is  universally  judged  that  the  influence  of 
Christianity  upon  human  nature  and  upon  civiliza- 
tion is  altogether  elevating  and  wholesome. 

These  bare  outlines  may  serve  to  remind  the 
reader  how  grand  a  phenomenon  Christianity  is  in 
the  history  of  the  world.  The  question  which  we 
have  to  consider  is  whether  the  JN^ew  Testament 
The  question    ^istorics  givc  the  true  account  of  its  ori- 

mustbemet.     ^^^^       J|.    ^^r\\\    ^of  do    tO    dispOSO    of    this 

question  by  vague  remarks  on  human  credulity  and 
the  possibilities  of  self-deception  and  imposture. 
"  To  put  aside  the  question  of  its  origin  " — of  the 
origin  of  the  Christian  religion — "  by  telling  us  that 
mankind  are  easily  deceived,  is  much  the  same  as  it 
would  be  to  put  aside  the  question  about  the  origin 
of  the  Gulf  Stream  by  telling  us  that  water  is  an 
element  very  easily  moved  in  different  directions."* 

1  Hopkins's  Lectures  on  the  Evidences  of  Christianity. 


CHAPTER  V. 

PEOOF  OF  THE  SUPEENATURAL  ORIGIN  OF  CHRISTIANITY  FROM 
THE  PORTRAITURE  OF  THE  CHARACTER  OF  JESUS  IN  THB 
EVANGELISTS. 

The  character  of  Jesus  as  it  is  depicted  in  the 
Evangelists  is  one  of  unequalled  excellence.  This 
is  universally  admitted.  It  is  not  a  character  made 
up  of  negative  virtues  alone,  M^here  the  sole  merit 
Combination  ^®  ^^^®  abscuce  of  culpablc  traits.  It  has 
of  virtues.  positivc,  strouglj  marked  features.  It 
combines  piety,  an  absorbing  love  and  loyalty  to 
God,  with  philanthropy — a  love  to  men  without  any 
alloy  of  selfishness,  and  too  strong  to  be  conquered 
by  their  injustice  and  ingratitude.  It  unites  thus,  in 
perfect  harmony,  the  qualities  of  the  saint  and  of  the 
philanthropist.  It  blends  holiness  with  compassion 
and  gentleness.  There  is  no  compromise  with  evil, 
no  consent  to  the  least  wrong-doing,  even  in  a  friend 
or  follower.  But  with  this  purity  there  is  a  deep 
well  of  tenderness,  a  spirit  of  forgiveness  which 
never  fails.  With  the  active  virtues,  with  an  in- 
trepidity that  quails  before  none,  however  high  in 
station  and  public  esteem,  there  are  connected  the 


THE  CHARACTER   OF  JESUS,  83 

passive  virtues  of  patience,  forbearance,  meekness. 
The  world  beholds  in  Jesus  its  ideal  of  goodness.' 

Now,  there  are  conclusive  reasons  for  affirming 
that  this  character  is  not  the  product  of  the  imag- 
ination of  the  Evangelists..  It  is  an  original  charac- 
ter, and  one  which  those  who  describe  it 
ure  of  Jesus     couM  ucvcr  liavc  iuveuted.     In  the  first 

not  contrived.       _  ,  _  •iitt/»  i« 

place,  it  stands  out  m  bold  reJiei  and  m 
obvious  contrast  with  the  imperfections  of  those  to 
whom  we  owe  the  portrait  of  it.  With  no  model 
in  actual  life  to  follow,  how  could  the  fishermen 
of  Galilee  put  on  the  canvas  this  figure — the  cen- 
tral figure  in  the  world's  history  ?  In  the  second 
place,  it  is  not  a  character  which  is  formally  delin- 
eated. It  is  not  set  forth  in  a  string  of  epithets, 
or  abstract  statements,  or  by  vague,  indiscriminate 
laudation.  The  impression  whicli  we  gain  of  the 
character  of  Jesus  is  from  a  large  collection  of  in- 
cidents and  of  sayings  recorded  in  the  Gospels. 
Our  idea  of  him  is  the  effect  of  a  great  variety  of 

1  Speculative  opinions  not  accordant  with  the  faith  of  the  Church 
have  not  availed  to  prevent  candid  minds  from  clearly  discerning  this 
fact.  "It  was  reserved  for  Christianity  to  present  to  the  world  an 
ideal  character,  which  through  all  the  changes  of  eighteen  centuries 
has  inspired  the  hearts  of  men  with  an  impassioned  love,  has  shown 
itself  capable  of  acting  on  all  nations,  ages,  temperaments,  and  condi- 
tions, has  been  not  only  the  highest  pattern  of  virtue  but  the  strong- 
est incentive  to  its  practice,  and  has  exercised  so  deep  an  influenc© 
that  it  may  be  truly  said  that  the  simple  record  of  three  short  years 
of  active  life  has  done  more  to  regenerate  and  soften  mankind  than 
all  the  disquisitions  of  philosophers  and  all  the  exhortations  of  moral- 
ists."— Lecky's  History  of  European  Morals,  vol.  ii.,  p.  9. 
3 


34r  CHRISTIAN  E  VIDENCES. 

facts.  To  the  production  of  such  an  effect  by  such 
means,  the  writers,  had  they  drawn  upon  their  own 
imagination,  or  that  of  others,  w^ould  have  been 
manifestly  incompetent.  Finally,  the  character  of 
Jesus,  as  portrayed  in  the  Gospels,  has  an  unmis- 
takable air  of  reality. 

We  may  go  forward  with  safety  a  step  farther. 

Jesus,  as  we  become  acquainted  with  him  in  the 

Gospel  narratives,  which  are  to  this  ex- 

Perfectionof  i/>  .«.  ,.  -.^  .i 

the  character  tout  sejf-verifymg,  was  literally  a  smless 
person.  We  have  here  a  character  of 
immaculate  purity.  This,  to  be  sure,  is  a  point 
which  cannot  be  demonstrated^  since  no  one  can 
discern  the  motives  of  action  ;  but  it  can  be  estab- 
lished beyond  reasonable  doubt.  In  all  that  is  re- 
corded of  him,  there  is  no  evidence  of  moral  fault. 
There  is  nothing  that  he  did  or  said  which  can 
justly  be  made  a  ground  of  reproach.  It  is  incred- 
ible that  the  Evangelists,  even  on  the  supposition 
of  a  plan  on  their  part  to  make  him  out  to  be  better 
than  he  was,  could  have  selected  their  materials — 
putting  in  this,  and  leaving  out  that — in  such  a  way 
as  to  accomplish  the  purpose.  The  task  would  have 
been  too  great  for  their  powers.  It  would  imply 
not  only  a  perfect  ideal  in  their  minds,  but,  also,  an 
impossible  skill  in  realizing  it  in  a  narrative  form. 
No  self-re-  Morcovcr,  while  Jesus  was  obviously  holy 
proach.  beyond  all  example,  and  had  the  clearest, 
most  penetrating  discernment  of  moral  evil,  and 


THE  SmZESSNUSS  OF  JESUS.  36 

while  he  condemned  even  the  least  wrong  in  the 
inmost  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  sonl,  there  is 
not  a  trace  of  self-reproach  on  his  part.  Had  he 
anywhere,  even  in  his  prayers  to  God,  implied  that 
he  was  guilty  of  fault,  some  record  of  his  self- 
accusation  would  have  been  left.  It  would  have 
found  its  way  into  the  traditions  concerning  him. 
When  his  cause  was  prostrate,  and  nothing  but  an 
ignominious  death  awaited  him,  in  the  hours  of 
anguish  some  expression  implying  penitence  would 
have  escaped  him.  Not  only  is  there  no  trace  of 
such  a  feeling  on  his  part,  but  it  will  scarcely  be 
denied  that  he  made  on  his  followers,  who  were  in- 
timately associated  with  him,  the  impression  that 
he  was  absolutely  free  from  moral  fault. 

Those  who  are  convinced  that  Jesus  was  without 
sin  may  find  in  the  fact  a  cogent  argument  for  the 
The  erfec-  supcmatural  origin  of  Christianity.  In 
tion  of  Jesus    ^^q  gj-gt  placc,  there  is  no  reason  to  think 

a  miraculous  ^^  ' 

fact.  that  any  other  faultless  and  perfect  char- 

acter has  ever  existed  among  men.  Jesus  is  thus 
an  exception  to  a  universal  fact  respecting  the 
race.  To  account  for  this  exception,  to  explain 
this  one  instance  of  spotless  purity,  it  is  reasonable 
to  assume  an  extraordinary  relation  to  God  on  his 
part — to  assume  something  that  is  equivalent  to  a 
miracle.  In  the  second  place,  his  sinlessness  gives 
credibility  to  his  testimony  respecting  himself. 
That  he  claimed  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  the  Messiah, 


36  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES, 

is  beyond  all  dispute.     On  this  charge  he  was  cru« 

cified.     It  will  not  be  questioned  that  the  position 

which  he  claimed,  and  persisted  in  claim- 

The  safeguard    .  -  i.-  i  -i  i^     i 

against  self-     mg,  was  01  an  exceptional  and  exalted 

deception.  i.tt  'n  i 

kind,  it  will  not  be  questioned  that  he 
considered  himself  the  spiritual  guide  and  deliv- 
erer of  mankind.  To  acquit  him  of  an  unheard- 
of  arrogance  and  self-deception  we  must  give  credit 
to  his  judgment  and  testimony  concerning  him- 
self. If  we  discredit  this  judgment  and  testimony 
we  must  conclude  that  perfect  moral  purity,  and 
humility  withal,  are  consistent  with  a  self -exaltation 
alike  baseless  and  really  without  a  parallel  in  the 
extent  to  which  it  was  carried.  We  must  ascribe 
to  him  an  enormous  self-delusion.  We  must  con- 
clude of  the  only  pure  and  perfect  one  that  the 
light  that  was  in  him  was  "  darkness." 


CHAPTER  VL 


PKOOF   02?   THE  MIRACLES   FROM   PECULIAR  FEATURES    OF    THfl 
GOSPEL  NARRATIVES. 

No  one  doubts  that  the  Gospels  contain  a  great 
deal  that  is  true  about  the  life  and  teaching  of 
Christ.  These  books  are  the  almost  exclusive 
source  from  which  the  world  derives  its  knowledge 
of  what  he  did  and  suffered  and  of  what  he  said. 
Such  writers  as  Strauss  and  Renan,  who  disbelieve 
in  the  miracles,  construct  biographies  of  Jesus  out 
of  the  materials  furnished  them  in  the  Gospels. 

Now,  before  inquiring  into  the  date  and  author- 
ship of  these  four  histories,  we  can  find  in  what 
all  candid  students  must  concede  to  be  historically 
true  in  them,  convincing  proof  that  miracles  were 
wrought  by  Jesus. 

1.  On  different  occasions  Jesus  is  said  to  have 
told  those  whom  he  miraculously  healed 

The  prohibi-  _  ,  i  t   i        i  i         -tt 

tions  to  report  uot   to   make   it   puoliclv   kuowu.       He 

miracles.  •it  *  i  ^  t  •  i 

Wished  to  avoid  a  public  excitement  hav- 
ing little  or  no  kinship  watli  moral  and  spiritual 

»  Matt.  ix.  30,  xil  16,  xvii.  9;  Mark  iu.  13,  v.  43 ;  Luke  v.  14,  viii 
56,  etc. 


38  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES, 

feeling.  Sometimes  he  had  to  retire  to  solitary 
places  to  avoid  the  multitude.  No  one  can  reason* 
ably  question  that  these  injunctions  not  to  report 
miracles  were  uttered  by  him.  There  is  no  motive 
that  could  account  for  the  invention  oJ  them,  espe- 
cially since  it  is  added  that  they  were  disregarded. 

2.  Cautions,  which  are  plainly  authentic,  against 
an  excessive  esteem  of  miracles,  are  said  to  have 
^,.    ,      ^    been   uttered   by   Jesus.*     No   one   who 

Miracles  not  •/ 

overvalued,  niadc  up  storics  of  miracles  would  con- 
nect with  his  accounts  a  disparagement  of  them,  or 
anything  that  looked  like  it.  The  imaginative, 
wonder-loving  spirit,  which  prompts  to  the  invention 
of  fictitious  miracles,  always  magnifies  their  impor- 
tance. The  disciples,  when  they  rejoiced  that  they 
bad  been  able  to  deliver  demoniacs,  were  told  not 
to  rejoice  that  the  spirits  were  subject  to  them,  but 
rather  to  rejoice  that  they  could  look  forward  to  an 
abode  in  heaven.'' 

3.  There  are  sayings  of  Christ  which  are  evidently 
genuine,  but  which  are  inseparable  from  the  mira- 
Teaching  ^Ics  with  wliich  tlicy  are  connected  in  the 
unte'S'tT^"'  record.  Thus,  John  the  Baptist,  when  he 
gether.  ^^g  '^  prisou,  scut  two  of  liis  disciplcs  to 
Jesus  to  inquire  if  he  were  in  truth  the  Messiah  or 
only  a  forerunner.^  This  inquiry  implies  a  momen- 
tary doubt  in  the  mind  of  John,  owing,  it  is  to  bo 

'  Jolm  iv.  48,  xiv.  11 ;  Matt.  xvi.  3 ;  Luke  x.  17.  «  Lu^q  x.  2a 

"Matt.  xi.  4;  Luke  xvii.  23. 


INCIDENTAL  PROOF  OF  MIRACLES.  39 

presumed,  to  the  fact  that  no  grand  demonstration 
of  the  power  of  Christ  had  been  made,  no  visible 
establishment  of  a  kingdom.  Pei'haps  the  gloom  of 
a  prison  may  have  had  its  influence  in  exciting  this 
transient  doubt.  But  such  a  doubt  in  the  mind  of 
the  prophet,  of  him  whose  testimony  to  Jesus  was 
counted  of  so  much  value,  no  disciple  of  Jesus  would 
have  wished  to  occur.  No  one  would  think  of  falsely 
attributing  it  to  John.  The  messengers  were  directed 
to  go  back  to  John  and  to  tell  him  what  they  had 
seen  and  heard :  "  The  blind  receive  their  sight,  and 
the  lame  walk ;  the  lepers  are  cleansed,  and  the  deaf 
hear ;  the  dead  are  raised  up,  and  the  poor  have  the 
Gospel  preached  to  them."  This  answer  of  Jesus  is 
part  and  parcel  of  the  incident.  It  is  inseparable 
from  the  question.  And  the  incident  proves  that 
Jesus  was  engaged  in  working  the  miracles  of  which 
mention  is  made. 

Among  the  controversies  of  Jesus  with  over-rig^d 
observers  of  the  sabbath,  there  is  one  in  which  he  is 
said  to  have  put  the  question  :  "Which  of  you  shall 
have  an  ass  or  an  ox  fallen  into  a  pit,  and  will  not 
straightway  pull  him  out  on  the  sabbath  day  ? " ' 
These  words  are  in  a  style  characteristic  of  Jesus. 
Few,  if  any,  doubt  that  he  uttered  them.  Now,  Luke 
says  that  the  occasion  of  the  question  was  a  reproach 
from  the  Pharisees  for  healing  a  man  of  the  dropsy. 
The  words  obviously  imply  that  it  was  a  case  where 

>  Luke  ziv.  5. 


40  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES, 

0 

some  one  who  was  in  extreme  danger  had  been  res* 
cued.  How  can  it  be  doubted  that  Jesus  had  really, 
as  the  Evangelist  relates,  healed  a  man  of  a  danger- 
ous disease  on  the  sabbath  day  ? 

Other  similar  instances  might  be  adduced.  One 
who  studies  the  Gospels  will  see  that  the  teachings 
of  Jesus  presuppose  the  miracles  which  are  recorded 
in  conjunction  with  his  reported  words  having  refer- 
ence to  them. 

The  Evangelists  ascribe  to  Jesus  no  miracles  prior 
to  his  baptism.  This  is  one  striking  difference  be- 
No  miracles  twocn  tlicm  and  the  apocryphal  Gospels, 
bapusmo^/  If  the  record  of  miracles  by  the  Evangelists 
Jesus.  jg  ^^^  true,  if  they  are  creations  of  fancy 

or  invention,  why  do  they  not  commence  earlier  ? 
Why  are  not  miracles  ascribed  to  Jesus  before  he 
reached  the  age  of  thirty  ?  Why  is  this  long  period 
left  a  blank  ? 

Moreover,  no  miracles  are  attributed  to  John  the 
Baptist,  notwithstanding  that  so  much  value  is  at- 
tached in  the  Gospels  to  his  testimony  to 

No  miracles  -rr      i  ini  t  •• 

ascribed  to      Jesus.     If  there  had  been  a  disposition 

the  Baptist.  .  p         .         i  i  t  -  i 

to  make  up  stories  of  miracles  that  did 
not  occur,  why  is  not  John  credited  with  works  of  a 
like  nature  ? 


CHAPTER  Vn. 

PROOF   OF   THE     RESURRECTION     OF   JESUS   FROM    STATEMENTS 
BY   THE   APOSTLE   PAUL. 

There  are  four  Epistles  which  no  competent  scholar 
doubts  that  the  Apostle  Paul  wrote.  The  most 
noted  schools  of  modern  skeptics  have  with  one  ac- 
cord accepted  them  as  genuine.  They  are  the  two 
Epistles  to  the  Corinthians,  and  the  Epistles  to  the 
Romans  and  Galatians.  In  his  first  Epistle  to  the 
Corinthians,  Paul  refers  to  the  proofs  of  the  res- 
urrection of  Jesus.  In  this  important  passage  we 
are  told  what  he  had  learned  from  the  other 
Apostles  on  this  subject.  In  the  Epistle  to  the 
Galatians  he  speaks  of  his  intercourse  with  them 
The  acquaint-  ^^  different  occasions.  Three  years  after 
w"th  the^other  ^^^  conversiou,  he  had  spent  a  fortnight 
Apostles.        ^i^i^  p^^g^,  ^^  Jerusalem  (Gal.  i.  18).     At 

that  time  he  had  met  James,  the  Lord's  brother. 
Later  (a.d.  52),  he  met  Peter,  James,  and  John,  and 
conferred  with  them  on  the  Gospel  (Gal.  ii.  1-10) 
He  had  enjoyed  ample  opportunities  to  ascertain 
what  the  Apostles  had  to  say  about  the  resuiTec- 
tion  of  Jesus ;  that  he  would  avail  himself  of  these 


42  chuistian  evidences, 

opportunities  we  might  be  certain  beforehand ;  but 

that  he  did  so,  what  he  tells  ns  on  the  subject  proves. 

Writino:  to  the  Corinthians,  he  sets  down 

What  he  had     _ .      .       ^  .  ,  _       _       '         .         _         _ 

learned  from    distinctlv   wJiat   ho    had   previouslv   de- 

them.  *^  r  J 

clared  to  them  respecting  the  Saviour's 
reappearance  from  the  dead/  On  the  third  day 
after  his  burial,  Jesus  appeared  to  Peter.  After- 
wards he  appeared  to  the  twelve ;  then  to  above  five 
hundred  brethren  assembled  together;  then  to 
James;  then  to  all  the  Apostles.  Last  of  all,  he 
had  manifested  himself  alive  to  Paul  himself  at 
the  time  of  his  conversion ;  for  to  this  event  he 
undoubtedly  refers.  Even  without  the  records  of 
the  Evangelists,  it  is  safe  to  conclude,  from  these 
statements  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  that 
the  Apostles,  from  the  third  day  after  the  death  of 
Jesus,  testified,  substantially  as  related  by  Paul,  to 
his  resurrection.  "We  have,  therefore,  the  testi- 
mony of  the  Apostles  to  this  cardinal  fact  in  the 
Gospel  history,  and  that  testimony  is  entitled  to 
credit. 

It  is  said,  by  way  of  objection,  that  the  alleged 
manifestation  of  Jesus  to  Paul  was  in  a  vision,  and 
Paul  saw  ^^^^^  ^^^^^  ^^^y  have  been  unreal.  But, 
Jesus.  first,  Paul  distinguishes  the  first  revelation 

of  Jesus  to  him,  when  he  saw  Jesus,  from  subse- 
quent visions  and  revelations  (2  Cor.  xii.  1 ;  1  Cor. 
ii.  10).     "  Last  of  all^^^  he  says,  enumerating  the 
1 1  Cor.  XV.  i-a 


WITNESS   OF  PAUL   TO   THE  RESUURECTION.      43 

appearances  of  the  risen  Jesus,  '^  he  appeared  to  me 
also."  Whether  by  "  all  "  is  here  meant  all  inter- 
views with  the  risen  Jesus,  or  all  of  the  Apostles, 
the  inference  following  from  the  statement  is  the 
same.  Paul's  sight  of  Jesus  at  his  conversion  was 
the  last  of  the  series  of  his  bodily  manifestations, 
as  distinguished  from  apocalyptic  visions.  Secondly, 
even  if  there  were  any  reason  to  regard  these  last  as 
unreal,  his  first  perception  of  Christ  could  not  be 
accounted  for  in  this  way.  We  shall  show  hereafter 
that  Paul's  mind  was  not  in  such  a  state  as  to  per- 
mit us  to  ascribe  that  first  revelation  to  him  to  the 
effect  of  hallucination.  We  shall  find  him  assur- 
ing us  that  he  had  not  felt  the  least  doubt  as  to 
the  rectitude  of  the  course  that  he  w^as  pursuing 
in  his  warfare  on  the  disciples.  He  had  not  the 
slightest  misgivings  on  the  subject.  The  expres- 
sion: "It  is  hard  for  thee  to  kick  against  the 
pricks,"  is  a  proverb  denoting  the  futility  of  the  at- 
tempt to  withstand  the  progress  of  Christ's  cause. 
It  has  no  reference  to  inward  feelings  of  Paul,  as 
if  he  were  disturbed  by  doubt  and  a  divided 
mind.  He  verily  thought  that  he  was  doing  God 
service. 

Whatever  the  nature  of  the  alleged  manifestation 
of  Jesus  to  Paul  was,  there  is  no  reason  to  inter- 
pret him  as  saying  that  the  appearances  of  Jesus  to 
the  other  Apostles  were  of  the  same  kind  as  to  him. 
If  we  turn  to  the  Gospels,  we  find  accounts  of  inter- 


44  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES. 

views  of  the  risen  Jesus  with  his  followers,  which, 
to  say  the  least,  are  the  earliest  and  the  only  tradi- 
tions that  were  handed  down  in  the  early  Church. 
This  can  be  safely  affirmed  before  we  examine  the 
question  of  the  authorship  of  the  Gospels.  There  is 
certainly,  even  at  this  stage  of  our  discussion,  no 
reason  to  doubt  that  these  accounts  in  the  Gospels 
embody  the  statements  which  the  Apostles  made  to 
their  converts.  At  all  events,  Paul's  letter  to  the 
Corinthians  establishes  the  point  that  they  testified 
to  the  interviews  which  he  there  enumerates. 

Were  the  Apostles  deceived  ?  Were  these  mani* 
testations  to  them  (and  to  the  five  hundred)  a  delu- 
The  haiiuci-  siou  of  tlicir  owu  miuds  ?  Hallucination 
nation  theory.  -^  ^  disorder  of  the  scuscs,  or  of  the 
brain,  which  leads  one  to  see  or  to  hear  what  has 
no  reality  outside  of  the  nervous  organism.  This 
explanatior  of  the  appearances  of  Jesus  to  the  Dis- 
ciples after  his  death,  is  excluded  for  several  rea- 
sons that  are  decisive.  There  is  no  probability  that 
they  were  looking  for  any  such  reappearance  of 
Christ.  There  is  no  reason  to  distrust,  but  good 
reasons  for  believing,  the  statements  of  the  Evan- 
gelists that  the  disciples,  although  they  did  not 
disperse,  or  forsake  Jerusalem,  were  affected  with 
sorrow  and  fear.  This  would  be  natural  on  finding 
themselves  bereaved  of  their  Master,  and  their 
hopes  connected  with  him  crushed  by  an  event  so 
appalling  as  his  crucifixion.     There  was,  then,  no 


WITNESS   OF  PAUL   TO   THE  RESURRECTION.      45 

preparation  of  mind  for  such  a  delusion  as  the  hal- 
lucination theorj  implies.  Then,  the  fact  that  so 
many  persons,  in  companies,  on  different  occasions, 
were  persuaded,  without  a  shadow  of  doubt,  that 
Christ  was  with  them,  and  that  they  saw  him,  ren- 
ders such  an  hypothesis  the  more  improbable. 
When  the  authenticity  of  the  Gospels  shall  have 
been  established,  the  circumstances  related  by  them 
— ^for  example,  the  doubts  of  Thomas  and  the  way 
they  were  overcome — will  be  seen  absolutely  to  pre- 
clude the  theory  in  question.  But,  besides  these 
considerations,  the  idea  of  hallucination  is  shut  out 
by  one  remarkable  peculiarity  of  the  alleged  mani- 
festations of  the  risen  Jesus.  They  took  place,  as 
Paul's  testimony  shows,  at  intervals,  and  in  a  definite 
number.  They  began  at  a  certain  time — on  the  third 
day ;  and  they  ended  after  a  brief  period.  Had  the 
followers  of  Jesus  been  in  that  state  of  mind  out  of 
which  the  illusions  of  hallucination  might  arise,  and 
if  this  had  been  the  source  of  what  they  thought  to 
be  actual  reappearances  of  Jesus,  these  manifesta- 
tions would  have  been  much  more  numerous.  They 
would  not  have  begun  and  ended  at  these  definite 
points.  They  would  not  have  suddenly  ceased. 
They  would  have  continued  and  multiplied  as  time 
went  on,  and  as  the  courage  and  enthusiasm  of  the 
flock  increased.  This  would  surely  have  been  the 
case,  according  to  the  ordinary  law  of  the  working 
of  this  sort  of  mental  delusion. 


46  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES. 

The  conclusion  is  justified  that  the  testimony  of 
the  Apostles,  to  which  they  adhered  at  the  cost  of 
every  earthly  comfort  and  of  life  itself — for  there 
is  no  doubt  that  they  steadfastly  endured  thesQ 
penalties — ought  to  be  believed. 


CHAPTER  Vm 

THE   GENUINENESS   OF   THE   GOSPELS. 

The  evidence  of  the  genuineness  of  the  Gospels 
is  the  same  in  kind  as  the  evidence  which  satisfies 
Nature  of  the  ^^^  of  the  gcnuincness  of  the  History  of 
proofs.  ^}^3  Jews  (ascribed  to  Josephus),  of  Livy's 

History  of  Korne,  and  of  other  writings,  whether 
ancient  or  modern.  The  early  reception  of  writings 
as  genuine  by  those  who  had  the  means  of  knowing, 
early  traditions  respecting  them  which  are  not  justly 
liable  to  suspicion,  references  to  them,  or  quotations 
from  them,  at  a  time  when,  if  they  were  spurious, 
this  fact  could  not  have  been  concealed,  internal 
marks  in  the  works  themselves  indicative  of  their 
authorship  or  date  of  composition — these  are  among 
the  proofs  on  which  we  rely  in  determining  the 
question  of  the  origin  of  literary  works.  , 

In  glancing  at  the  evidence  on  this  subject,  in  the 
present  case,  we  will  first  take  our  stand  in  the  clos- 
ing part  of  the  second  century.  It  is  allowed  on  all 
hands  that  the  four  Gospels  of  the  canon  were  at 
that  time  the  sole  and  universally  recognized  author- 
ities concerning  the  life  of  Jesus,  in  all  the  churches 


48  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES. 

in  the  different  regions  of  the  Eoman  Empire. 
From  this  starting-point  we  will  travel  backward  to 
the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  Apostolic  age. 

One  of  the  most  famous  and  influential  men  in 
the  Church  in  the  last  quarter  of  the  second  century 
was  Irenseus,  who  became  bishop  of  Ly- 
ons, in  Gaul,  a.d.  177.  Not  far  from  a.d. 
180  he  wrote  an  elaborate  work  against  the  heresies 
which  had  sprung  up  in  that  century.  In  the 
course  of  this  w^ork  he  has  occasion  to  speak  of  th^ 
Four  Gospels  as  received  by  all  the  churches,  and 
received  exclusively.  He  does  not  speak  of  this 
fact  as  anything  new,  or  as  if  he  had  ever  heard  of 
anything  different,  or  as  if  there  could  be  any  rea- 
sonable doubt  that  this  exclusive  rank  belonged  to 
the  Four.  According  to  Irenseus,  one  might  as 
well  think  of  more  or  less  than  four  quarters  of  the 
earth,  of  more  or  less  than  the  four  winds.  He 
tells  us,  moreover,  in  detail,'  that  Matthew  pub- 
lished "a  written  Gospel  among  the  Hebrews  in 
their  own  language,"  that  after  the  death  of  Peter 
and  Paul,  "  Mark,  Peter's  disciple  and  interpreter, 
did  himself  also  publish  unto  us  in  writing  the 
things  which  were  preached  by  Peter  ";  that  "  Luke, 
too,  the  attendant  of  Paul,  set  down  in  a  book  the 
'Gospel  preached  by  him  "  ;  that  "  afterwards  John, 
the  disciple  of  the  Lord,  who  also  leaned  on  his 
breast — he  again  put  forth  his  Gospel  while  he  abode 

»  Adv.  Haer.,  III.,  i.,  1. 


THE  GENUINENESS  OF  THE  GOSPELS.  49 

in  Ephesus  in  Asia."  Elsewliere/  Irenseus  informs 
us  that  John  lived  to  an  advanced  age,  and  did  not 
die  until  after  the  accession  of  Trajan  (a.d.  98). 

Of  the  integrity  of  Irenseus  theie  is  no  question. 

"We  have  only  to  ascertain  what  means  he  had  of 

acquainting:  himself  with  the  past.     He 

Value  of  the  ^  ?  *^ 

testimony^of     was  Dom  lu  Asia  Miuor,  and  spent  the 

Irenaeus.  ... 

early  part  of  his  life  in  the  East.  He 
well  remembered  Polycarp,  the  martyr,  Bishop  of 
Smyrna,  who  was  an  acquaintance  and  disciple  of  the 
Apostle  John  himself.'*  Polycarp  M^as  put  to  death 
A.D.  155.  How  long  it  was  before  his  death  that 
Irenaeus  had  intercourse  with  him  we  are  not  told, 
but  it  was  when  Irenaeus  himself  was  young.  He 
was  probably  born  between  a.d.  120  and  a.d.  130. 
Besides  the  memorable  fact  of  his  acquaintance 
with  Polycarp,  Irenaeus  was  familiar  with  many 
Christian  disciples  who  were  old  when  he  was  a 
youth.  Pothinus,  whose  colleague  he  was  for  a 
while  at  Lyons,  before  he  succeeded  him  as  bishop, 
lived  to  the  age  of  ninety  years.  He  died  a.d.  177. 
Irenaeus  had  conferred  with  "elders" — that  is,  ven- 
erated leaders  in  the  Church  of  an  earlier  time,  who 
had  been  pupils  of  men  whom  the  Apostles  had  in- 
structed, and  some  of  whom  had  sat  at  the  feet  of 
the  Apostles  themselves.^ 

'  Adv.  Haer.,  II.,  xxii.,  5. 
«  Adv.  Haer.,  HI.,  iii.,  4;  Epist.  ad  Flor. 

8  Adv.  Haer.,  II.,  xxil,  5;  III,  i.,  1 ;  III.,  iii.,  4;  V.,  xxx.,  1;  IV., 
ii.,  1 ;  cf.  Eusebius,  Hist.  EccL,  III.,  23;  IV.,  14;  V.,  8. 
4 


50  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES, 

A  like  testimony  to  the  universal  exclusive  re* 
ception  of  the  Four  Gospels^  as  tlie  authorities 
handed  down  in  the  churches,  is  given  by  other 
distinguished  church  teachers,  contemporaries  of 
Irenseus.  We  hear  substantially  the  same  thing 
Clement,  from  Clement,  a  renowned  theological 
Tertuiuan.  ^.^acher  at  Alexandria,  and  from  Tertul-* 
lian,  who  was  a  leading  presbyter  in  North  Africa. 
Clement  was  born  not  later  than  a.d.  160.  Referring 
to  a  statement  in  an  apocryphal  Gospel,  he  remarks 
that  it  is  not  found  "in  the  four  Gospels  w^hich  have 
been  handed  down  to  us."  ^  Clement  was  a  man  of 
learning  who  had,  moreover,  travelled  extensively. 
The  four  Gospels,  Tertullian  asserts,  have  existed 
from  " the  very  beginning,"  and  "are  coeval  with 
the  churches  themselves."''  His  appeal  is  to  the 
testimony  of  churches  which  the  Apostles  them- 
selves founded. 

We  now  go  back  to  the  generation  prior  to  Ire- 
nseus.  Here  we  have  the  testimony  of  Justin  Mar- 
justinMar-  ^J^*  J^stiu  was  put  to  death  for  being 
*y^-  a  Christian,  under  Marcus  Aurelius,  prob- 

ably A.D.  166.  At  the  time  of  the  Jewish  rebel- 
lion of  Bar-cochba  (a.d.  134-136),  he  had  already 
pursued  extensive  studies  in  various  schools  of  phi- 
losophy, and  had  been  converted  to  the  Christian 
faith.  He  was  born,  it  is  believed,  at  the  close  of 
the  first  century.     His  birthplace  was  the  Eoman 

» Strom.,  III.,  553  (ed.  Potter).  «  Adv.  Marcion,  IV.,  5. 


Til  11   (r'l'LYiriNEN'JtJSS  OF  THE  GOSPELS.  51 

colony  of  Flavia  Neapolis,  near  the  ancient  Sichem, 
in  Samaria ;  but  liis  family  was  Greek.  He  so- 
journed for  a  time  at  Ephesus.  He  had  a  wide 
acquaintance  with  Christians,  and  with  their 
churches  in  many  places.  Thrfee  of  his  writings 
are  extant  —  two  "  Apologies,'^  or  Defences  of 
Christianity,  and  the  Dialogue  with  Trypho,  a 
Jew.  The  first  of  his  Apologies  was  addressed 
to  Antoninus  Pius,  about  148  ;  the  second  fol- 
lowed not  long  after  the  first.  The  sources  from 
which  Justin  draws  his  accounts  of  the  life  and 
teachings  of  Jesus  he  styles  Memoirs^  or  Me- 
moirs of  the  Apostles.  Writing  for  disbelievers 
outside  of  the  Church,  he  has  no  occasion  to  refer 
to  the  authors  of  them  by  name.  But  he  describes 
them  as  written  by  Apostles  and  their  companions. 
This  he  does  in  connection  with  a  passage  that  is 
found  in  Luke.'  This  description  answers  to  the 
Four,  two  of  whom  bear  the  names  of  Apostles, 
and  the  other  two  were  ascribed  to  attendants  of 
Apostles.  In  one  place  he  refers  to  an  incident  re- 
specting Peter,  which  he  professes  to  derive  from 
"  his  Gospel."  ^  The  incident  is  found  in  Mark, 
which,  as  we  know  from  other  sources,  was  not  un- 
frequently  called  Peter's  Gospel.  Another  reading 
of  the  text  in  Justin,  however,  would  make  the  ref- 
erence to  be,  as  in  other  places,  to  the  Memoirs  of 
*^th^  Apostles."     He  calls   the  Memoirs,  in  one 

»Dial.  c.  103.  2 Dial.,  c.  108. 


62  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES. 

place,  ''  Gospels."  ^  Twice  he  refers  to  ''the  Gos- 
pel," ^  a  title  given  in  other  authors  to  the  Four 
collectively.  Justin  says  that  the  Memoirs  were  in 
public  use.  They  were  read  on  Sunday  in  the  re- 
ligious services  of  Christians,  ''  in  city  and  coun- 
try." ^  What  were  these  ''  Memoirs  "  ?  They  must 
have  been  the  same  as  those  described  by  Irenseus. 
If  not,  it  must  be  assumed  that  after  Irenseus  had 
grown  up  to  manhood,  the  authoritative  Gospels  in 
use  in  the  Churches  were  superseded  by  others,  or 
else  that  new  Gospels,  not  previously  acknowledged^ 
took  their  place  by  the  side  of  such  as  had  pre< 
viously  been  accepted.  But  how  could  so  impor- 
tant changes  take  place^  and  Irenseus  know  nothing 
of  them  ? 

But  the  references  to  the  contents  of  the  Me 

moirs  in  Justin  are  very  numerous.     When  thej 

are   brought  together  they  make    up    a 

enceofthe      protty  f  ull  account  of  the  events  in  the 

quotations  to      -..p       %    t  i        £    i   •  •  rpi 

theGospeisof  Me  OX  Josus,  and  or  Ins  saymo!;s.     Ihey 

the  Canon.  ^      '         .  o     ^ 

correspond  to  the  statements  or  the  ca- 
nonical Evangelists.  A  large  part  of  the  matter 
accords  with  what  we  find  in  Matthew  and  Luke  ;  a 
small  portion  of  it  is  found  in  Mark  alone ;  and 
there  are  not  wanting  striking  correspondences  to 
passages  occurring  exclusively  in  John.  It  is  true 
that  the  quotations  are  not  verbally  accurate.  For 
Justin's  purpose  there  was  no  occasion  that  they 

1  Apol. ,  I. ,  c.  ea  «  Dial. ,  cc,  10,  100.  «  ApoL ,  I.  6Z> 


THE  GENUINENESS  OF  THE  GOSPELS,  53 

should  be.  But  his  quotations  from  tlie  Gospels 
are  not  more  free,  as  to  their  form,  than  are  his  ref- 
erences to  Old  Testament  passages.  He  does  not 
even  think  it  necessary  to  cite  a  passage  the  second 
time  in  the  same  words.  His  verbal  inaccuracy  in 
quoting  John  (John  iii.  3-5)  was  a  natural  one,  and 
has  been  shown  to  be  just  tlie  same  as  in  a  citation 
of  the  passage  in  so  late  a  w^riter  as  the  celebrated 
English  divine,  Jeremy  Taylor.^  Justin's  references 
to  events  or  sayings  in  the  Gospel  history,  which 
have  not  substantial  parallels  in  the  Gospels  of  the 
Canon,  are  few  and  insignificant,  and  can  be  ac- 
counted for  without  supposing  them  to  have  been 
derived  from  other  written  sources.  They  embrace 
not  more  than  two  sayings  of  Jesus,  both  of  W'hich 
are  found  in  other  wndters  who  yet  own  no  author- 
itative Gospels  but  the  four  of  the  Canon. 

An  additional  proof  that  Justin's  Gospels  were 
the  four  of  the  Canon  is  the  fact  that  Tatian,  who 
Tatian's  ^^^  ^  pupil  of  Justiu,  combincd  these 
harmony.  f^^-^j.  |^-j  r^  simple  uarrativc,  called  Diates- 
saron^  or  the  Gospel  of  the  Four.  It  began  with 
the  opening  passage  of  John's  Gospel. 

^  Justin's  words  are :  ''For,  indeed,  Christ  also  said  '  except  ye  be 
born  again,  ye  shall  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.'  And 
that  it  is  impossible  for  those  who  are  once  born  to  enter  into  their 
mothers'  womb  is  plain  to  all."  Not  alone  by  the  correspondence  of 
passages  in  Justin  with  particular  verses  in  John,  is  his  use  of  this 
Gospel  made  evident.  His  teaching  in  respect  to  the  Logos  or  Word 
must  have  been  derived  from  a  source  recognized  as  authoritative ; 
and  no  such  source  is  known,  unless  it  wg.s  the  Fourth  Gospel. 


54  CimiSTIAN  EVIDEJS^CES. 

The  Christian  literature  prior  to  the  middle  of 
the  second  centurj  is  scanty  in  amount,  and  frag- 
mentary.    It  consists  for  the  most  part 

Character  of  „  ,  .  „  n  n 

the  earliest      of  Icttcrs,  writtcu  for  Durposes  of  edmca- 

literature.  ,  .        .  | 

tion.  Statements  comcident  with  pas- 
sages in  the  Gospels  occur,  but  tliey  are  usually  inter- 
woven in  the  text,  either  without  any  express  notice 
that  they  are  quoted,  or  with  an  indefinite  mention 
of  them  as  being  a  part  of  authoritative  Christian 
teaching.  It  is  not  always  possible  to  tell  with  cer- 
tainty whether  such  passages  were  taken  from  the 
oral  tradition  at  the  basis  of  the  first  three  Gospels, 
or  from  these  writings  themselves.  But  we  meet  in 
the  Apostolic  Fathers,  the  writers  of  the  sub-apos- 
tolic age,  numerous  echoes  of  the  narratives  wliich 
make  up  the  contents  of  the  four  canonical  Gospels. 

A  few  instances  may  be  given  of  this 

Polycarp.  _  -n»    i  •         i   •        t^     •      i 

character,  rolycarp,  m  his  Jipistle  to 
the  Philippians,^  has  the  words :  ''  According  as  the 
Lord  said, '  the  spirit  indeed  is  willing,  but  the  fiesh 
is  weak.' "  The  quotation  corresponds  exactly  to 
Matt.  vi.  13,  and  was  probably  derived  from  this 
Gospel.  In  the  same  chapter,  Polycarp  says  :  "  For 
every  one  who  shall  not  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is 
come  in  the  fiesh,  is  antichrist."  This  statement  was 
taken  from  1  John  iv.  2-4,  unless  indeed  it  was  re- 
membered by  Polycarp  as  having  been  uttered  by 
his  apostolic  teacher.     Without  doubt,  the  Gospel 

1  C.  vii. 


THE   OENUIJSrENESS  OF  THE  GOSPELS.  55 

of  John  and  the  first  Epistle  are  from  the  same 
hand.  Tlie  Epistle  erroneously  ascribed  to  Barna- 
E  istie  of  ^^^  ^^^  written  not  later  than  a.d.  120.  It 
Barnabas.  contains  several  passages  which  it  is  most 
natural  to  refer  to  the  Gospel  of  Matthew  as  their 
source.  This  appears  almost  certain  respecting  the 
passage,  "He  came  not  to  call  the  righteous  but 
sinners.'""  In  another  place  it  is  said:  "Let  us 
take  heed  lest  so  be  that  we  be  found,  as  it  is  writ- 
ten, *  Many  called,  but  few  chosen.""*  The  words 
quoted  are  identical  with  Matt.  xx.  16,  or  xxii.  14. 
The  preface — "it  is  written" — was  the  common  pre- 
fix to  citations  from  sacred  Scripture.  If  it  have 
this  meaning  here,  the  Gospel  is  placed  on  a  level 
with  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament. 

A  very  ancient  document,  called  "The  Teaching 

of  the  Twelve  Apostles,"  was  first  published  in  1883, 

a  few  years  after  its  discovery  in  a  library 

Teaohin^of       .         ^  .  ,  t       -       i      t  i     i 

the  XII.  Apos- m   (Jonstantinople.     It  is  held  by  some 

ties.  ^  ^ 

scholars  to  be  older  than  the  Epistle  of 
Barnabas  (a.d.  120),  and  even  to  be  as  early  as  the 
last  years  of  the  first  century.  If  not  so  old  as  Bar- 
nabas, we  are  forbidden  by  internal  marks  from 
placing  it  later  than  a.d.  140.  It  is  a  kind  of  Churdi 
manual  of  instruction,  characterized  by  a  strong 
infusion  of  Jewish  Christian  peculiarities.  This 
book  contains  passages  which  imply  a  use  of  the 
Gospels  of  Matthew  and  of  Luke.     In  one  place'  it 

»  C.  V.  9 ;  cf .  Matt.  ix.  13.  »  C.  iv.  9.  s  c.  xv. 


56  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES. 

says:  "Bat  your  prayers  and  your  alms  and  all 
your  deeds  so  do  ye,  as  ye  have  it  in  tlie  Gospel  of 
our  Lord."  The  same  word — the  Greek  for  "  Gos- 
pel " — occurs  in  three  other  places  in  the  book.  It 
is  probable  that  the  term  denotes  a  written  record. 
It  is  the  name  given  in  Origen  and  other  early  writ- 
ers to  the  Four  Gospels,  taken  collectively,  or  re- 
garded as  one  body.  As  used  in  the  Teaching,  it 
may  have  the  same  meaning  ;  or  it  may  possibly 
designate  a  combination,  or  harmony,  of  Matthew 
and  Luke,  which  was  in  the  author's  hands.  The 
writings  which  are  thus  tacitly  recognized  in  the 
Teaching  must  have  been  received  as  authorities  in 
the  churches  for  which  it  was  written,  and  in  which 
it  was  used.  Besides  the  distinct  traces  of  the  use 
of  these  Gospels,  the  three  Eucharistic  prayers '  con- 
tain words  and  phrases  peculiar  to  John's  Gospel, 
f 'rom  this  source  it  is  natural  to  conclude  that  they 
^were  drawn. 

The  antiquity  of  the  Gospels  is  proved*  by  the 
ancient  versions  that  were  made.  The  Peshito, 
The  ancient  tiio  Biblo  of  tlio  Syrian  churches,  origina- 
versions.  ^^^^  -^^  ^lj  probability  within  the  limits  of 
the  second  century.  Its  origin  is  placed  by  the  most 
competent  scholars  in  the  first  half  of  that  century. 
The  Old  Latin  version  was  in  current  use  when  Ter- 
tullian  wrote.  It  must  have  been  made  earlier  than 
A.D.  170 ;  bow  much  earlier  we  cannot  determine. 

*  Cc.  ix.  and  x. 


THE  GEKUINENEkSS   OF  THE   GOSPELS.  57 

From  a  contemporary  of  Justin,  but  older  than 
he — Papias,  Bishop  of  llierapolis,  in  Phrygia — we 
Testimony  of  havo  definite  accounts  relative  to  the 
Papias.  composition  of  the  Gospels  of  Matthew 

and  Mark.  Papias  was  a  contemporary  of  Poly- 
carp  (who  was  born  a.  d.  69  and  died,  as  we  have 
said,  in  155).  Papias  was  diligent  in  gathering 
information  fi'om  those  who  had  been  conversant 
with  the  Apostles,  and  he  appears  to  have  con- 
ferred personally  with  two  of  the  immediate  dis- 
ciples of  Jesus,  John,  the  Elder  (as  he  is  called), 
and  Aristion.  He  was  thought  by  Irenseus  to  have 
been  acquainted  with  John,  the  Apostle,  but  this  is 
doubted  by  the  ancient  church  historian,  Eusebius. 
Papias  wrote  a  book  entitled,  "Exposition  of  the 
Oracles  of  the  Lord."  In  this  work,  he  says  of 
John,  the  Elder,  or  Presbyter,  in  a  passage  quoted 
by  Eusebius : 

*'And  the  Elder  said  this:  "Mark,  having  become  the  in- 
terpreter of  Peter,  wrote  down  accurately  what  lie  remembered, 
not,  however, -recording  in  order  what  was  either  said  or  dono 
by  Christ.  For  neither  did  he  hear  the  Lord  nor  follow  him, 
but  afterwards,  as  I  have  said,  attended  Peter,"  etc. 

''  Such,"  adds  Eusebius,  "  is  the  relation  in  Papias 
concernino;  Mark.  But  concernino-  Matthew  this  is 
said :  '  So  then  Matthew  wrote  the  oracles  in  the 
Hebrew  language,  and  everyone  interpreted  them 
as  he  was  able.' "  ^ 

1  Euseb.,  Hist.  Eccl.,  iv.,  30. 


58  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES. 

The  language  of  Papias  implies  that  the  neoessity 
of  translating  the  Hebrew  or  Aramaic  original  of 
Matthew  no  longer  existed.  That  is  to  say,  Mat- 
thew in  the  Greek  was  in  his  hands.  Some  schol- 
ars are  of  opinion  that  the  word  for  '*  oracles  "  in 
the  foregoing  extracts  from  Papias,  should  be  ren- 
dered "  discourses  "  or '^  sayings,"  and  that  the  work 
which  Matthew  wrote  in  Aramaic  consisted  mostly 
of  discourses  of  Jesus.  To  these,  it  is  supposed,  the 
narrative  parts  of  the  book  were  added,  in  connec- 
tion with  its  translation  into  Greek.  Whatever  ex- 
pansion the  writing  of  Matthew  may  have  received 
after  it  was  first  composed,  the  work  w^as  so  far 
recognized  as  his  production  that  it  continued  to 
bear  his  name.  That  it  existed  in  its  present  form 
as  early  as  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus  (a.  d. 
70)  will  be  proved  hereafter  from  internal  evidence. 
If  any  portion  of  the  book  had  another  author  than 
Matthew,  that  author  was  a  contemporary  disciple 
of  sufficient  authority  to  secure  an  undisputed 
acceptance  of  what  was  thus  connected  with  the 
Apostle's  composition.  This  editor  of  Matthew 
would  stand  thus  on  a  level  with  Mark  and  Luke. 

A  striking  proof  of  the  genuineness  of  the  canon- 
ical Gospels  is  the  use  made  of  them  by  heretical 
leaders,  by  whom  they  are  dealt  with  as 

Marcion.  ,  .         . 

having  authority  in  the  churches.  From 
these  Gospels  they  endeavor  to  draw  support  for 
their  eccentric   opinions.     In  behalf  of   the  third 


THE  GENUINENESS  OF  THE  GOSPELS.  59 

Gospel  there  is  evidence  of  a  peculiar  character 
from  the  treatment  of  it  by  Marcion,  the  founder 
of  a  sect  bearing  his  name.  Marcion  was  an  active 
and  formidable  heresiarcli  when  Justin  wrote  hvi 
first  Apology  (a.d.  148).  He  was  born  in  Pontus, 
in  Asia  Minor ;  he  knew  Poljcarp ;  and  he  was  in 
Kome  as  early  as  about  a.d.  140.  Owing  to  his 
one-sided  zeal  for  Paul's  doctrine,  as  he  incorrectly 
understood  it,  he  refused  to  acknowledge  the  other 
Apostles  as  authorized  guides,  and  made  up  a 
Canon,  or  collection  of  Scriptures,  out  of  Paul's 
Epistles,  and  the  Gospel  of  Luke  —  striking  out 
of  Luke,  however,  passages  which  recognized  the 
authority  of  the  Old  Testament  law.  The  Gospel 
used  by  Marcion  is  demonstrated,  and  is  now  gen- 
erally conceded,  to  have  been  a  mutilated  Luke. 
This  mutilation  of  the  third  Gospel,  in  order  to 
promote  a  sectarian  purpose,  and  the  whole  pro* 
eeeding  of  Marcion  in  the  matter,  make  it  clear  that 
Luke's  Gospel,  as  we  have  it,  was  at  the  time  gen- 
erally received  in  the  churches.  Marcion  selected 
this  Gospel  for  the  reason  that  Luke  was  acknowl- 
edged to  have  been  a  disciple  of  Paul.  It  is  a  just 
inference  that  the  canonical  Gospel  was  an  authori- 
tative document  in  the  churches  when  a  consider- 
able number  of  the  younger  contemporaries  of  the 
Apostles  were  still  living. 

Within  the  first  three  Gospels  themselves  there 
are  distinct  evidences  of  their  early  date,  and  what- 


60  CmUSTIAK  MVIBENCES, 

ever  proves  their  early  date,  proves  likewise  their 

genuineness ;  since,  in  the  lifetime  of  the  Apostles, 

Internal  proof  ^^^^d     ^^^^^1'     t'^^"*     ^7^^,    forged     COHipOsi- 

dlte^Vt^'i'iirBttic^ns,  had  anybody  wished  or  dared  to 
three  Gospels,  fp^me  thom,  coiild  not  havo  secured  accepl:- 
ance  among  those  whom  the  Apostles  guided  and 
taught.  The  most  convincing  of  these  internal 
proofs  is  in  the  predictive  passages  respecting  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  the  Parousia,  or  Sec- 
ond Advent,  of  Christ.  The  first  impression  made 
by  these  passages  in  Matthew  is  that  there  was  no 
time  to  intervene  between  the  two  events,  and  the 
impression  made  by  the  corresponding  passages  in 
Mark  and  in  Luke  is  that  the  interval  is  to  be 
brief.  It  is  not  requisite  here  to  attempt  to  ex- 
plain the  passages  in  question,  or  to  account  for  the 
peculiarity  to  which  we  allude.  Whatever  expla- 
nation is  adopted,  it  remains  evident  that,  had  the 
Gospels  been  written  at  a  later  day,  the  association 
of  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  with  the  last  Judg- 
ment, in  the  manner  and  form  in  which  they  ap- 
pear to  be  connected  by  the  Evangelists,  especially 
in  Matthew,  would  not  exist.  There  would  surely 
have  been  some  explanation,  some  caution  against 
so  natural  an  inference,  some  indication  that  tho 
two  events  were  not  to  stand  in  so  close  juxtaposi- 
tion. Whoever  will  candidly  examine  the  passages 
referred  to,  will  be  persuaded  that  the  first  three 
Gospels  were  written  before  the  generation  thai 


THE   GENUINENESS  OF  THE  GOSPELS,  61 

listened  to  Jesns  had  passed  off  the  stage.  Mat- 
thew was  composed  before  Jerusalem  w^as  taken  by 
Titus.  In  any  revision  of  this  Gospel  later  than 
this  catastrophe,  these  perplexing  passages  would 
not  have  been  left  unexplained.  Mark  must  like- 
wise have  preceded  the  capture  of  the  city  and  the 
destruction  of  the  temple ;  and  Luke  must  have 
been  written,  if  not  before,  within  a  short  time  after 
these  momentous  occurrences. 

The  first  three  Gospels — and  the  same  will  be 
found  to  be  true  of  the  fourth — abound  in  allusions 
Local  refer-  to  placcs,  local  custouis,  characteristic 
eaces.  idcas  and  feelings,  such   as  no  counter- 

feiter, writing  at  a  later  day,  could  have  wrought 
into  the  narratives.  They  are  introduced  without 
design.  They  are  such  as  only  contemporaries  fa- 
miliar w^ith  Palestine  and  the  ways  of  the  people 
could  have  been  conversant  with.  Yery  rarely  there 
may  occur  a  reference  of  this  sort  which  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  verify  ;  but  this  is  true  of  the  best  accredited 
ancient  writers  who  have  left  us  accounts  of  their 
own  times.  The  atmosphere  of  the  Gospels  is  that 
of  Galilee  and  Judea  in  the  days  of  the  Apostles. 

The  third  Gospel  and  the  book  of  Acts  were  as- 
,  ,      ,       ,  cribed    without    dispute,  in    the    ancient 

Internal  proof  ^  ^  ,  r     -r*       i 

of  the  genu-     Qhurch,  to  Lukc,   a  companion  of  Paul 

ineness  of  ?  ^  i 

Luke.  — the  same  Luke  who  is  referred  to  by  the 

Apostle/    Both  works  are  undeniably  by  the  same 

»CoL  iv.  16;  2  Tim.  iv.  11. 


62  CHRISTIAJSr  EVIDENCES, 

author.  This  is  manifest  from  the  style.  The  book 
of  Acts  refers  to  "  the  former  treatise,"  which  was 
also  addressed  to  the  same  Theophihis  to  whom  the 
Acts  is  inscribed/  The  author  of  the  third  Gospel 
professes  to  have  derived  his  information  from  care- 
ful inquiries  made  of  immediate  witnesses  and  par- 
ticipants in  the  events  related.^  He  had  learned 
the  facts  orally,  or,  it  might  be,  in  part  from  writ- 
ings. His  avowed  purpose  was  to  present  an  accu- 
rate, consecutive  narrative.  There  is  no  reason  for 
questioning  the  fact  that  this  statement  was  made 
by  the  author  of  the  Gospel,  or  for  doubting  its 
truth.    That  the  author  was  really  at  times 

Its  author  an  .  p   -r^       i    •  i  i  •   i       t  i 

attendant  of  a  compauiou  01  l^au]  IS  estabushed  by  a 
peculiar,  convmcmg  piece  or  evidence. 
The  narrative  in  Acts  moves  on  as  we  should  expect 
of  a  historian  who  has  gathered  his  information 
from  others,  until  he  arrives  at  Troas.'  Then  there 
is  a  sudden  transition  to  the  first  person  plural — 
"immediately  we  endeavored  to  go  into  Macedonia." 
The  use  of  the  pronoun,  implying  the  author's  per- 
sonal association  with  Paul,  goes  on  until  the  Apostle 
reaches  Philippi.  Then  it  is  dropped  during  the  rest 
of  the  Apostle's  second  missionary  journey.  But  he 
joins  Paul  again,  it  would  appear,  at  Philippi,^  and 
continues  in  his  company  all  the  way  to  Rome.  The 
graphic  description  of  the  voyage  and  shipwreck 

J  Acts  i.  1 ;  Luke  i.  4.  «  Luke  i.  3. 

«  Acts  xvi.  10.  *  Acts  XX.  5. 


THE  GENUINENESS   OF  THE  GOSPELS.  63 

makes  it  almost  impossible  to  doubt  that  it  was 
written  by  one  who  saw  what  he  relates.  Tliere  is 
no  reasonable  explanation  of  this  use  of  the  pronoun 
"  we  •'  in  these  parts  of  the  book  except  that  the 
author  of  the  Acts  (and  thus  the  author  of  the  third 
Gospel)  accompanied  Paul  for  a  time  on  his  jour- 
ney. The  style  of  the  "  we  "  passages  is  in  com- 
plete accord  with  that  of  the  rest  of  the  book.  This 
of  itself  excludes  the  idea  that  they  are  quoted  from 
a  document  not  written  by  the  author.  We  cannot 
attribute  to  him  a  purpose  to  deceive  the  reader  on 
this  point.  Had  he  been  capable  of  such  a  fraudu- 
lent intent  he  would  have  taken  pains  to  make  his 
pretended  relation  to  Paul  more  conspicuous.  He 
would  not  have  left  it  to  be  detected  and  inferred 
by  none  but  observing  readers.  This  is  not  at  all  the 
manner  of  the  framers  of  pseudonymous  writings. 

It  has  been  alleged  that  the  representation  of  the 
relation  of  Paul  to  the  other  leading  Apostles,  which 
Agreement  of  IS  givcu  iu  tlio  Acts,  and  of  Paul's  tcacli- 
^ateraeSs^of  i^g  to  theirs,  is  not  consistent  with  what 
^^'^^^  we  learn  from  his  Epistles.     This  charge 

applies  especially  to  Acts  xv.,  and  to  the  account 
there  of  the  conference  at  Jerusalem.  The  allegation 
is  that  tliere  was  hostility  to  Paul  and  his  doctrine, 
on  the  part  of  Peter.  This  objection  would  imply 
that  the  author  of  the  Acts,  whoever  he  may  have 
been,  was  a  later  writer  and  a  deliberate  deceiver. 
It   is   overthrown   completely   by   Paul's  own  un- 


6^  CHRISTIAN'  EVIDENCES. 

e(^aivocal  statement  that  the  other  Apostles — Peter, 
James,  and  John — ''added  nothing"  to  him;  that 
is,  had  nothing  to  add,  by  way  of  amendment,  to 
his  doctrine — and  by  Iiis  distinct  assertion  that  they 
gave  to  him  "the  right  hand  of  fellowship."*  This 
disproves  the  notion  that  Peter  was  a  judaizer.  That 
there  was  a  public  conference  is  not  excluded,  but 
rather  implied  in  Paul's  language.^  That  the  results 
of  it  were  substantially  as  related  in  the  Acts,  ad- 
mits of  no  reasonable  doubt.  James,  and  those  of 
like  mind  with  him,  would  not  have  been  content 
with  a  less  measure  of  accommodation  to  Jewish 
feeling,  from  the  side  of  the  Gentile  converts.  That 
they  we7'e  content  is  established  by  Paul's  testimony 
in  the  Galatians. 

The  fourth  Gospel  is  distinguished  by  marked 
characteristics  from  the  other  three.  It  has  a  more 
full  account  of  the  labors  of  Jesus  in  Judea. 
pei^nd  the  Accordiug  to  the  fourth  Gospel  his  min- 
istry extended  over  more  than  three  years  ; 
whereas  from  the  first  three — looked  at  apart  from 
the  light  thrown  on  them  by  the  fourth — we  should 
infer  that  it  was  limited  to  about  one  year.  The 
style  of  the  discourses  in  John  differs  from  that  of 
most  of  the  sayings  of  Jesus  recorded  in  the  other 
Evangelists.  But  these  differences  do  not  amount 
to  an  inconsistency.  As  to  the  labors  of  Jesus  in 
Judea,  and  the  duration  of  his  ministry,  we  find  in 

1  Gal.  ii.  6,  9,  »  Qal.  ii.  3. 


THE  GENUINENESS  OF  THE  GOSPELS,  C5 

the  other  Gospels  incidental  corroboration  of  the 
Statements  in  John/  We  find  in  them,  also,  occa- 
sional utterances  of  Jesns  in  the  same  vein  as  that 
of  the  discourses  in  the  fourth  Gospel.''  The  lan- 
guage ascribed  to  Jesus,  as  far  as  it  is  like  that  of 
the  Evangelist  himself,  and  of  other  persons  who 
appear  in  his  narrative,  may  be  accounted  for  natu- 
rally, if  we  suppose  that  John  had  assimilated  the 
thoughts  of  his  master,  and  presents  them,  in  part, 
in  a  condensed  form  and  in  language  of  his  own. 
Peculiarities  of  These  peculiarities  of  the  fourth  Gospel 
pd  prove^u^'"' ^^'^  really  an  argument  for  its  genuine- 
genuineness.  nggg^  fQj.  ^hcy  are  sucli  as  no  forger,  no 
one  falsely  assuming  to  be  an  Apostle,  would  have 
ventured  to  impart  to  his  composition.  He  would 
rather  have  sought  to  imitate,  as  far  as  he  could, 
the  earlier,  acknowledged,  and  well-known  Gospels. 
Having  these  striking  peculiarities,  it  w^ould  have 
been  suspected  and  rejected  on  the  ground  of  them, 
had  not  the  churches  and  church  teachers  had  good 
evidence  that  an  Apostle  wrote  it.  Bnt  we  dis- 
cover that  the  fourth  Gospel  was  received  in  the 
second  century  without  question  or  con- 

TheAlogi.  .  •;  ^       .  .       , 

tradiction.  Ihe  only  exception  is  the  op- 
position to  it  of  a  handful  of  so-called  *'Alogi,"  at 
Thyatira,  about  a.d.  170,  who  disliked  it  primarily 
on  doctrinal  grounds.    But  even  this  handful  of  see- 

'  For  example,  in  Matt,  xxiii.  87. 
2  For  example,  Matt.  xi.  27  (Liike  x.  22). 
5 


66  CUlilSTIAN  EVIDENCES. 

taries,  by  ascribing  it  to  Cerinthiis,  a  contemporary 
of  John,  the  Apostle,  at  Ephesus,  and  an  opponent, 
refuted  themselves,  since  their  assertion  implied  its 
early  date,  and  since  the  acceptance  by  the  church 
of  Ephesus,  and  by  the  other  churches  in  Asia  Mi- 
nor and  elsewhere,  of  a  Gospel  which  was  the  work 
of  a  notorious  heretic,  is  incredible.  To  the  testi- 
mony of  Irenseus,  and  to  the  decisive  character  of 
it,  in  view  of  his  relations  to  Polycarp  and  to  others 
in  that  very  region,  we  liave  already  adverted/ 

The  fourth  Gospel  was  written  by  a  Palestinian 
Jew.  This  is  shown,  among  other  proofs,  by  pecu- 
Locai  ref-  liaritics  of  language.  Moreover,  the  Gos- 
erences.  p^|   ^g   gt^ewu   witli   refcrenccs   to   local 

peculiarities  which  prove  the  author  to  have  been 
well  acquainted  with  the  scenes  of  the  narrative. 
This  characteristic  has  been  admitted  by  prominent 
critics  of  the  skeptical  schools.  Kenan  says  of  the 
account  of  the  healing  of  the  nobleman's  son  in  the 
fifth  chapter,  that  it  was  written  by  one  who  had 
himself  made  the  journey  from  Cana  to  Caper- 
naum. Irenseus  could  not  have  been  deceived  in 
his  recollections  of  what  he  had  heard  from  Poly- 
carp, a  disciple  of  John,  nor  could  he  have  been 
mistaken  as  to  the  person  to  whom  Polycarp  re- 
ferred, and  reminiscences  of  whom  he  was  fond  of 
relating.  In  the  circle  in  the  midst  of  which  Poly- 
carp was  held  in  honor,  and  of  which  Irenseus,  m 

»  Page  48,  seqo 


THE  GENUINENESS   OF  THE  GOSPELS.  67 

his  youth,  was  a  member,  there  was  no  doubt  or  dis- 
pute respecting  the  authorship  and  date  of  the 
fourth  Gospel. 

The   manner   in   which   the   authorship   of  the 
fourtli  Gospel  is  disclosed  in  the  work  itself  con- 
tains a  strong  proof  of  its  genuineness. 

The  author  of     ,^.    .,.,  n    ^   *  ^c    ^  ^  i 

the  fourth       Ihis  disclosuro  ot  himseit  by  the  author 

Gospel — his  ,  , 

disclosure  of    stauds  lu  conuectiou  with  an  attestation 

himself.  i         i        i  t 

appended  to  the  book  at  the  close,  in 
the  course  of  the  narrative,  a  disciple  is  referred 
to  repeatedly,  but  with  an  avoidance  of  the  mention 
of  his  name.  There  leaned  on  the  bosom  of  Jesus 
at  the  Last  Supper  "  one  of  his  disciples  whom 
Jesus  loved."  '  There  went  with  Peter  to  the  tomb 
of  Jesus  "  the  other  diseiple,  whom  Jesus  loved."  * 
He  is  spoken  of  as  "  another  disciple,"  and  "  that 
other  disciple."  It  will  not  be  doubted  that  he  was 
the  "one  of  the  two  "  who  with  Andrew  followed 
Jesus  to  his  abode.  ^  It  is  said  that  on  the  second 
day  after  a  certain  occurrence  he  and  Andrew 
were  standing  with  John  the  Baptist,  whose  dis- 
ciples they  were.  They  heard  what  John  said  of 
Jesus  as  he  walked  by,  and  followed  him.  Jesus 
turned,  and  asked  them  what  they  were  seeking. 
They  inquired  where  his  abode  was.  He  invited 
them  to  come  and  see.  It  was  four  o'clock,  we  are 
told,  when  they  joined  him,  and  they  spent  with  him 
the  remainder  of  the  afternoon.     That  this  anony* 

Ixiii.  23.  axx.2.  «i.  39. 


68  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES, 

moiis  disciple  was  John,  or  that  he  is  the  person 
designated  in  these  expressions,  is  not  questioned. 
The  "otlier  disciple"  was  not  Peter,  for  Peter  is 
mentioned  as  an  associate.  No  one  has  imagined  it 
to  be  James,  tlie  brother  of  John,  who  died  early  in 
the  Apostolic  age.  ^  Of  the  three  who  are  known 
to  have  been  most  intimate  with  Jesns,  only  John 
is  left.  Now  this  covert  method  of  revealing  the 
author  could  only  spring  from  a  certain  delicacy  of 
feeling  on  his  part,  which  prevented  him  from  giv- 
ing his  own  name,  especially  since  he  was  led  to 
speak  of  himself  as  standing  in  so  tender  a  relation 
to  Jesus.  A  forger,  a  writer  pretending  to  be  John, 
would  never  have  resorted  to  this  peculiar  mode  of 
indicating  who  he  was,  or  professed  to  be.  It  is 
utterly  contrary  to  the  style  characteristic  of  spuri- 
ous writings. 

At  the  end  of  the  Gospel  there  is  an  attestation 

which  has  been  connected  with  it,  in  all  probability, 

since  its  first  publication.     It  reads  as  fol- 

Testimony  of  ,;,         -..^  i»ii  i 

John's  dis-      lows :  "  ihis  IS  the  disciple  which  bearetn 

ciolss* 

witness  of  these  things,  and  wrote  these 
things ;  and  we  know  that  his  witness  is  true."  "^ 
According  to  the  ancient  tradition,  the  Gospel  was 
published  by  the  disciples  of  John  at  Ephesus,  after 
his  death.  This,  then,  is  the  indorsement  which 
comes  from  those  into  whose  custody  it  was  given. 
If  any  should  imagine  that  the  Gospel  was  com^ 

^  Acts  xii.  2.  2  John  xxi.  24  (Revised  Version). 


THE  OENUINEI^ESS  OF  THE  GOSPELS.  69 

posed  by  these  pupils  of  John,  on  the  basis  of  what 
they  had  learned  from  him,  the  objections  to  this 
hypothesis  are  condnsive.  First,  it  is  contrary  to 
the  certification  just  quoted-  Secondly,  it  is  con- 
Hated  by  the  manner  in  which  the  author  modestly 
veils  his  own  personality,  instead  of  directly  declar- 
ing himself. 

The  style  of  the  first  of  the  Epistles  ascribed  to 
John  makes  it  evident  that  it  was  written  by  the 
same  author  as  the  fourth  Gospel.  In  this  Epistle 
we  have  an  unequivocal  declaration  that  the  author 
of  it  was  with  Jesus  and  an  eye-witness  of  what  he 
did/ 

That  the  author  was  personally  conversant  with 
Jesus  is  distinctly  implied  in  his  use  of  the  first 
person  plural  of  the  pronoun :  ^  "  We  beheld  his 
glory,"  etc.  He  plainly  asserts  that  he  saw  water 
and  blood  flowino;  from  the  side  of  Jesus  as  he  huns: 
on  the  cross.^  If  it  was  not  so,  we  are  obliged  to  im- 
pute to  the  author,  whoever  he  was,  wilful  deception. 

The  fourth  Gospel  is  a  sort  of  autobiography,  or 
personal  confession  of  the  faith  of  the  writer  in 
Jesus,  and  of  how  it  grew  up  in  his  soul. 
timacyim-  It  is  stecpcd  iu  pcrsoual  affection,  and 
pervaded  by  the  atmosphere  of  personal 
loyalty  and  devotion.  All  this  involves  the  fact  of 
personal  intimacy  and  discipleship. 

It  has  been  shown   that  the  four  Gospels  were 

» 1  John  i.  t  a  John  i.  14,  s  xix.  31 


70  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES, 

written  by  Apostles  and  well-informed  contempo- 
raries.    Even  if  their  anthorship  and  date  could  not 
be  definitely  ascertained,   there   is   s:ood 

Only  one  tra-  »/  ?  o 

dition.  reason  to  believe  that  in  their  contents 

the  story  which  the  Apostles  told  of  Jesus,  his 
teaching  and  works,  is  fairly  embodied.  From  Jus- 
tin Martyr  and  other  writers  of  the  second  century 
it  is  made  plain  that  this  and  no  other  tradition  ex- 
isted on  the  subject.  The  opponents  of  Christianity 
knew  of  no  other.  One  of  the  most  acute  of  these 
was  Celsus,  who  is  supposed  to  have  com- 
posed his  attack  about  a.d.  180.  From 
Origen's  reply  we  can  gather  up  a  great  portion  of 
what  Celsus  wrote.  Thus  it  is  ascertained  that  the 
history  of  Jesus,  which  is  the  object  of  his  adverse 
criticism,  corresponds  with  what  is  narrated  in  the 
Gospels.  Celsus  knew  of  no  other  conception  of 
Christ,  and  of  his  words  and  deeds. 


CHAPTEE  IX. 

TRUSTWORTHINESS   OF   THE   TESTIMONY   OF   THE   APOSTLES. 

We  have  before  tis  in  the  Gospels  the  testimony 
of  the  Apostles.  We  have  -the  substance  of  what 
they  declared  to  be  the  truth  respecting  the  career 
of  Jesus.  The  question  now  to  be  considered  is 
whether  the  Apostles  are  entitled  to  credit.  They 
are  worthy  of  belief  unless  it  can  be  shown  either 
Theaiterna-  ^'^^^  ^^^^J  intended  to  dcceivo,  or  were 
*^^'®-  themselves  mistaken.     Were  they  impos- 

tors ?  Or,  if  not  impostors,  were  they  enthusiasts, 
incapable  of  discriminating  between  actual  occur- 
rences and  their  own  imaginings?  Were  they 
knaves,  or  were  they  simpletons  ? 

The  Apostles  understood  that  their  office  was  that 

of  witnesses.    They  were  selected  by  Jesus  to  be  with 

him,  to  hear  what  he  said  and  to  see  what 

Conscions  of  .  -,  ,    ,  f. 

being  wit-       ho  did.     lu  a  passao-c,  the  authenticity  or 


which  is  not  open  to  question,^  Peter  re- 
quires that  one  should  be  chosen  to  take  the  place 
of  Judas,  who  had  been  with  them  and  with  Christ. 

'  Acts  i.  21-25.  The  prominence  here  given  to  Peter  by  the  author, 
a  Pauline  Christian,  prevents*  even  skeptical  critics  from  calling  in 
question  the  truth  of  the  historical  statement. 


72  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES. 

He  must  be  qualified  to  bear  witness  to  the  resur- 
rection of  Jesus — a  fact  singled  out  as  the  most  im- 
portant in  the  Apostles'  testimony. 

The  Apostles  never  ceased  to  feel  that  thej  were 
disciples.  They  stood  in  tlie  position,  not  of  origi- 
Aiways  nators,  but  of  learners.     Something  tin- 

disciples.  speakably  precious  had  been  communi- 
cated to  them  to  be  delivered  to  others.  All  their 
own  hopes  rested  on  the  facts  which  they  had  noth- 
ing to  do  in  originating. 

They  tell  their  tale  in  the  dispassionate  tone  that 

belongs  to  truthful  witnesses.     They  are  content 

to  let  the  simple  facts  speak  for  them- 

Theirtone.  ^  ^ 

selves.  For  example,  there  are  no  in- 
vectives against  Judas.  They  go  no  further  than 
just  to  relate  what  he  did. 

The  candor  of  the  Apostles,  and  of  the  Evangel- 
ists who  were  not  of  their  number,  is  evident.     A 

sino-le  instance  will  suffice  as  an  example.. 

Their  candor.  f  -r^       i  *     i 

Luke  relates  how  raul  was  set  upon  by  a 
furious  mob  of  Jews.^  They  shouted  that  he  had 
brought  Greeks  into  the  temple,  and  had  defiled 
that  "holy  place."  The  historian  takes  pains  to 
state  immediately  a  fact — one  that  he  might  have 
suppressed — which  was  of  the  nature  of  an  excuse 
for  their  violence.  They  had  seen,  he  tells  us,  one 
Trophimus,  an  Ephesian,  with  Paul,  and  had  heard 
that  he  had  taken  him  into  the  temple. 

1  Acts  xxi.  27  Beq. 


CREDIBILITY  OF  THE  APOSTLES.  73 

Tliey  show  their  honesty  in  relating  things  dis- 
creditable to  themselves.     Peter  told  the  story  of 
his  denials  of  the  Master,  for  it  is  related 

Relate  things     ,-.^1  nii  i-n 

to  their  own     bv  Mark  as  well  as  by  the  other  iivano;el- 

discredit.  *^  ./  o 

ists.  The  reproofs  of  Jesus  are  faithfully 
set  down.  The  Apostles  speak  of  their  ambition 
and  contentious  rivalry,  and  of  the  way  in  which 
they  were  rebuked  by  Christ.'  They  relate  how 
they  failed  to  understand  Jesus  in  cases  where  it 
seemed  obtuse  in  them  not  to  take  in  his  mean- 
ing.* What  better  proof  can  there  be  of  candor  ? 
They  even  tell  how  they  all  forsook  liim.^  It  is  evi- 
dent that  the  Apostles  had  no  thought  of  themselves, 
so  absorbing  was  the  interest  which  they  felt  in  the 
scenes  which  they  had  beheld,  and  in  which  they 
had  taken  part,  and  in  him  to  whom  they  looked 
up  as  to  their  lord  and  master.  All  personal  consid- 
erations were  lost  in  the  magnitude  of  the  events 
which  had  passed  before  their  eyes. 

The  sincerity  of  the  Apostles  is  proved  by  what 
they  were  willing  to  endure  in  consequence  of  the 
Their  sincer-  tcstimouy  wliicli  they  gave.  The  Apostle 
tifei?'siSer^^  Paul  spcaks  of  the  Apostles  collectively 
^°^'*  as"  the  cff-scouring  of  all  things."*    They 

had  no  selfish  advantage  to  gain.  On  the  contrary, 
the  hatred  of  their  friends,  exile,  personal  indigni- 
ties hard  to  bear,  even  torture  and  death,  were  the 

»  Mark  ix.  34 ;  Luke  ix.  46  «  Matt.  xv.  16,  xvL  6,  7,  ete. 

»  Matt,  xxvi  56 ;  Mark  xiv.  60.  *  1  Cor.  iv.  13. 


74  CUnlSTIAN  EVIDENCES. 

reward  which  they  had  to  expect  for  testifying  to 
what  they  professed  to  have  seen  and  heard. 

The  truth  of  the  Gospel  narratives  is  shown  by 
a  thousand  incidental  (and,  therefore,  undesigned) 
illusions  to  allusions  to  the  topography,  customs,  and 
lucai  customs,  ^i^nners  of  the  country— to  peculiarities 
of  time  and  place.  These  things,  w^hich  prove  their 
early  date,  confirm,  also,  their  credibility. 

That  the  Gospel  narratives  spring  out  of  inten- 
tional deceit  will  not  be  seriously  alleged.  To  ac~ 
The  mythi-  couut  for  them  as  far  as  they  relate  rair- 
cai  theory.  aclcs,  tlic  '^  mytliical  theory"  was  pro- 
posed by  Strauss.  This  theory  w^as  that  groups 
of  early  believers  in  Jesus,  brooding  over  Old 
Testament  predictions  of  the  Messiah  and  accounts 
of  miracles  wrought  by  the  prophets,  imagined  that 
Jesus  healed  the  sick,  raised  the  dead,  etc.  These 
stories  were  an  unconscious  growth  of  fancy  in  se- 
cluded communities  of  Galilean  followers  of  Jesus. 

This  theory  is  untenable.  Where  were  the  com- 
munities of  Christians  who  were  so  far  removed 
Objections  ^^^  ^^^^  ovorsight  ^  of  the  Apostles  ? 
^  ^*-  How    could    that   childlike,  unreflecting 

mood  of  feeling,  required  for  the  unconscious  ac- 
tion of  mythopoeic  fancy,  arise  or  abide  when 
the  faith  of  Christian  disciples  w^as  challenged  at 
every  turn,  and-  when  they  were  called  upon  to  de- 
fend it  against  hostile  criticism  ?  How  could  those 
who  thought  that  the  Messiah  must  work  miracles 


CREDIBILITY  OF  THE  APOSTLES.  75 

have  been  moved  to  believe  in  Jesus  unless  he  actu- 
ally met  this  indispensable  condition?  They  felt 
that  miracles  there  must  be,  we  are  told,  and  hence 
invented  or  dreamed  out  fictitious  tales  to  fill  the 
gap  ;  and  yet  the  lack  of  them  had  not  stood  in  the 
way  of  their  faith  in  the  messianic  claim  of  Jesus  ! 
The  time  between  the  death  of  Jesus  and  the  com- 
position of  the  Gospels  was  too  short  to  admit  of 
the  rise  of  a  body  of  myths,  a  spontaneous  growth 
in  the  circles  of  believers.  Moreover,  the  Gospels 
came  not  from  secluded  disciples,  such  as  are  imag- 
ined to  have  given  birth  to  mythical  tales.  They 
came  from  the  Apostles  and  those  under  their  instruc- 
tion and  care.  These  considerations  are  conclusive  ; 
but,  apart  from  them,  the  miracles,  as  we  have  seen, 
are  so  inseparably  connected  with  the  teaching  of 
Jesus  that  neither  ingredient  of  the  Gospel  narra- 
tives can  be  discarded  while  the  other  is  saved. 
We  cannot  reject  the  accounts  of  miracles  without, 
also,  disbelieving  the  record  of  sayings  of  Christ, 
which  are  obviously  and  undeniably  authentic. 

An  objection  is  made  to  the  credibility  of  the 
Gospels  on  the  ground  of  alleged  discrepancies. 
Alleged  dis-  The  first  thing  to  be  said  in  answer  to 
crepancies.      ^j^.^  Q|3Je(3f;jQj^  jg  that  whether  these  be 

real  or  only  apparent,  they  prove  that  there  was  no 
collusion,  no  conspiracy,  between  the  Evangelists 
or  the  informants  from  whom  they,  or  any  of  them, 
derived  their  matter.     The  second  remark  is  that 


76  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES. 

discrepancies  and  inaccuracies  belong  to  human 
testimony  generally.  On  the  principle  that  a  wit- 
ness or  an  author  is  to  be  discredited  if  he  fails  of 
accuracy  in  all  particulars,  it  would  be  impossible 
to  believe  anybody.  Courts  of  law  would  have  to 
be  shut  up,  for  the  most  veracious  witnesses  seldom 
agree  in  all  the  minutise  which  enter  into  their  testi- 
mony. All  books  of  history  would  have  to  be  cast 
aside,  including  narratives  written  from  personal 
observation.  Paley  says  justly:  ^'I  know  not  a 
more  rash  or  unphilosophical  conduct  of  the  under- 
standing than  to  reject  the  substance  of  a  story 
by  reason  of  some  diversity  in  the  circumstances 
with  which  it  is  related.  The  usual  character  of 
human  testimony  is  substantial  truth  under  circum- 
stantial variety.  This  is  what  the  daily  experience 
of  courts  of  justice  teaches.  "When  accounts  of  a 
transaction  come  from  the  mouths  of  different  wit- 
nesses, it  is  seldom  that  it  is  not  possible  to  pick  out 
apparent  or  real  inconsistencies  between  them. 
These  inconsistencies  are  studiously  displayed  by 
an  adverse  pleader,  but  often  with  little  impression 
upon  the  minds  of  the  judges."  Where  variations 
occur  in  testimony,  or  inaccuracies  in  any  single  wit- 
ness or  reporter,  the  only  question  is  whether  they 
are  of  such  a  number  and  character  as  to  destroy 
the  general  trustworthiness  of  the  narrators,  and  to 
east  doubts  on  the  substantial  contents  of  their 
tale.     In  the  third  place,  whatever  may  be  thought 


CREDIBILITY  OF  THE  AP0ST7ES.  77 

of  minor  points  of  variation  from  one  another,  the 
Gospels  can  be  proved  to  contain  no  such  instances 
of  diversity  in  the  narration  as  suffice  to  weaiven 
their  general  credibility.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  these  books  are  not  formal  histories.  They 
are  memoirs.  There  is  no  aim  at  completeness. 
They  are  not  put  together  by  expert  writers.  Cir* 
cumstances,  even  very  important  facts,  may  be  left 
out  of  one  and  recorded  by  another.  In  narratives 
of  this  character  there  is  often  an  appearance  of 
contradiction  where  some  additional  circumstance, 
not  introduced,  would  at  once  dispel  this  appear- 
ance. 

It  is  sometimes  made  an  objection  to  believing  in 
the  ]^ew  Testament  miracles  that  a  great  number 
of  miraculous  stories  have  been  set  afloat 
ecclesiastical  wliicli  are  generally  admitted  to  be  fabu- 
lous. This  objection  overlooks  the  fact 
that  the  same  thing  is  true  of  numberless  narratives 
in  which  nothing  miraculous  is  involved.  Because 
there  are  so  many  instances  of  mistake  or  imposi- 
tion, in  what  we  read  or  hear,  we  do  not  disbelieve 
in  everything  that  is  related. 

The  objection  has  no  force  unless  it  can  be  shown 
that  the  accounts  of  miracles  which  w^e  feel  justified 
in  at  once  rejecting,  are  as  well  attested  as  are  the 
miracles  recorded  in  the  Gospels.  But  this  cannot 
be  shown.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  cir- 
cumstances under  which  testimony  is  given,  as  well 


78  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES. 

as  the  temper  and  character  of  the  witness,  must  be 
taken  into  view.  The  weight  of  proof  is  measured 
by  the  strength  of  both  of  these  factors  combined. 

1.  The  Gospel  miracles  are  expressly  to  verify  re- 
^  velation.  It  was,  for  the  most  part,  only  at  marked 
'  epochs  in  the  progress  of  divine  revelation  that,  ac- 
cording to  the  Scriptures,  miracles  were  wrought.  On 
the  contrary,  alleged  miracles  outside  of  the  Script- 
ures are  frequently  naked  marvels,  deriving  no  sup- 
port from  any  high,  distinctive  purpose  which  they 
are  to  subserve. 

2.  The  Gospel  miracles  were  not  wrought  in  co- 
incidence with  a  prevailing  system  of  belief,  and 
for  the  furtherance  of  it.  On  the  other  hand,  they 
were  performed  in  behalf  of  teaching  and  of  claims 
which  were  hostile  to  established  prepossessions. 
The  miracles  of  Jesus  were  a  part  of  the  means  by 
which  faith  in  him  was  created  and  built  up.  Mir- 
acles related  by  the  ancient  fathers,  or  in  the  medi- 
aeval legends,  were  in  harmony  with  religious  beliefs 
already  deeply  rooted.  They  were  directly  in  the 
line  of  popular  expectations.  This  is  a  difference 
of  very  great  importance. 

3.  The  disposition  to  deny  the  reality  of  the  mir- 
acles wrought  by  Christ,  or  to  explain  them  away, 
had  to  be  confronted  by  the  Apostolic  witnesses. 
It  has  been  said  truly  Jliat  "  exorcism,  which  is  the 
contemporary  Jewish  miracle  referred  to  in  the 
Gospels,  is  evidently,  if  it  stands  by  itself,  and  is 


CREDIBILITY  OF  THE  APOSTLES,  79 

not  confirmed  by  other  and  more  decided  marks  of 
divine  power,  a  miracle  of  a  most  doubtful  and  am- 
biguous character."  To  whatever  cause  the  disorder 
is  referred,  "  a  sudden,  strong  impression,"  rousing 
the  energy  of  the  patient,  might,  in  less  aggravated 
cases,  effect  a  cure.  But,  even  as  to  exorcism,  the 
Jews  recognized  the  difference  in  the  cures  effected 
by  Jesus  from  anything  familiar  in  their  experience, 
and  were  driven  to  ascribe  them  to  aid  afforded  by 
Beelzebub.  In  general,  the  miracles  of  Jesus  were 
such  as  the  people  considered  in  the  highest  degree 
unlikely  to  occur.  The  statement,  which  is  often 
made,  that  there  was  no  idea  of  natural  law,  and, 
therefore,  that  there  was  an  uninquiring  credulity, 
is  contrary  to  the  truth.  The  idea  of  the  stability 
of  nature  is  constantly  implied  in  the  Gospel  narra- 
tives. Galilee  was  a  populous  district,  studded  with 
cities  and  villages.  The  minds  of  the  people  were 
sliarpened  by  trade  and  commerce.  They  w^ere  not 
illiterate  barbarians.  They  were  the  countrymen 
of  Josephus.  There  were  superstitions  then,  as  in 
every  age  since.  But  the  difference  between  a  nat- 
ural event  and  a  miracle  was  understood  and  felt. 
The  common  feeling  is  expressed  in  the  words, 
"  Since  the  world  began  was  it  not  heard  that  any 
man  opened  the  eyes  of  one  that  was  born  blind."* 
Nicodemus  said :  ''  No  man  can  do  these  miracles 
that  thou  doest,  except  God  be  with  hira."^     The 

>  John  ix.  33.  >  John  iii.  2. 


80  CHRISTIAl^  EVIDENCES. 

Pharisees  and  priests  said  :  "  Eemember  that  that 
deceiver  said,  while  he  was  yet  alive,  'After  three 
days,  I  will  rise  again.'  "  ^  Such  a  claim,  they  as- 
sumed, was  characteristic  of  a  deceive}'.  It  was  in 
the  midst  of  such  a  community,  in  the  face  of  all 
this  disbelief,  that  the  Apostles  told  their  story. 

4.  They  were  subjected  to  the  severe  test  of  per- 
secution and  suffering.  Was  it  facts  that  they  af- 
firmed ?  This  was  the  question.  Had  there  been 
a  doubt  in  their  minds,  they  must  have  given  way 
under  the  pressure,  not  only  of  authority — the  au- 
thority of  the  religious  rulers  and  guides  of  the  peo. 
pie — but,  also,  of  the  perils  and  sufferings  which 
their  testimony  brought  upon  them. 

5.  The  habit  of  mind  of  the  Apostolic  witnesses 
is  essentially  different  from  that  of  the  narratives 
of  heathen  and  ecclesiastical  miracles,  and  of  won- 
ders elsewhere  reported.  Two  things  vitiate  most 
of  the  testimony  to  events  of  this  sort.  The  first  is 
the  lack  of  a  clear  perception  of  facts  as  they  actu- 
ally occur.  The  second  is  an  appetite  for  the  mar- 
vellous. This  last  feeling  not  only  obscures  the 
mental  vision  and  is  one  cause  of  the  fault  just 
mentioned ;  it  also  begets  a  credulity  which  is 
fatal  to  the  exercise  of  judgment  respecting  the 
statements  of  others.  Both  these  defects,  which 
are  closely  connected  together,  may  coexist  with 
many  good  traits,  including  piety.     Now,  in  the 

>  Matt.  xxTU.  63. 


CREDIBILITY  OF  THE  APOSTLES.  81 

case  of  the  Apostolic  witnesses,  what  is  remarkable 
is  the  sobriety  of  mind,  which  leaves  the  perceptions 
clear,  and  with  it  that  conscientious  regard  for  truth 
which  insures  strictly  veracious  testimony. 

The  dignity  and  simplicity  of  the  miracles  re- 
corded in  the  New  Testament  are,  as  a  rule,  in 
strong  contrast  with  those  found  in  legendary  tales. 
The  miracles  in  the  apocryphal  Gospels  are,  as  a 
class,  grotesque,  fantastic,  or  otherwise  offensive. 
This  is  the  prevailing  character,  for  example,  of 
the  miracles  described  in  the  Gospel  of  the  In- 
fancy. The  same  character,  although  not  always 
in  so  excessive  a  degree,  belongs  to  heathen  and 
mediaeval  legends.  Exceptions  occur,  but  they  are 
exceptions — not  numerous  enough  to  efface  the  con- 
trast between  pagan  and  ecclesiastical  miracles  in 
general,  and  the  miracles  ascribed  to  Jesus  in  the 
Evangelists. 

Finally,  we  revert  to  the  character  of  Christ, 
which  is  too  unique  to  be  the  product  either  of 
imagination  or  of  conscious  invention.  When  that 
character,  in  its  immaculate  purity,  is  contemplated, 
in  connection  with  the  declared  purpose  of  his  life 
and  mission,  '•  to  bear  witness  to  the  truth,"  and 
"  to  seek  and  to  save  "  the  lost,  supernatural  mani- 
festations of  power  appear  to  be  a  suitable  accom- 
paniment of  his  work  in  the  world.  Why  not  the 
power,  as  well  as  the  holiness  and  love  of  God  ? 
The  antecedent  improbability  of  miracle  vanishes. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE     PROOF    OF    THE     RESURRECTION    OF     JESTJS     FROM     THE 
EVANGELISTS. 

Now  that  the  trustworthiness  of  the  Gospel  nar- 
ratives has  been  established,  we  can  appeal  to  the 
testimony  to  the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  which  they 
present.  We  can  reinforce  the  argument  founded 
on  the  affirmations  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  which  was 
presented  in  a  former  chapter;*  although  Paul's 
testimony,  even  when  considered  by  itself,  warrants 
the  conclusion  that  was  drawn  from  it. 

To  the  transcendent  importance  of  this  fact  of 
the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  the  Apostles  were  fully 

Importance  of  ^1^^®'  ^hoy  Staked  upou  it  their  verac- 
the  fact.  i|-y^  j£  j^g  j^g^(j  j^q^  riscu,  they  were  will- 
ing to  be  considered  false  witnesses.^  The  Lord's 
resurrection  was  inseparably  connected  with  the 
whole  doctrine  of  redemption.  It  was  involved  in 
all  their  hopes  of  salvation  from  sin,  and*of  future 
blessedness."  They  went  out  to  proclaim  "Jesus 
and  the  resurrection."  ^  The  estimate  which  they 
put  upon  this  central  fact  is  adapted  to  inspire  con- 

1  Ch.  VIL        2 1  Cor.  XV.  15.        a  1  Cor.  xv.  14.        *  Acts  xvii.  1& 


THE  GOSPELS  AND   THE  RESURRECTION.         83 

fidence  in  the  witness  which  they  gave  concerning 
it.  They  would  take  every  precaution  against  mis- 
take respecting  a  truth  on  which  they  were  con- 
scious that  everything  depended. 

That  Jesus  really  died  is  a  proposition  which  it 
is  no  longer  requisite  to  defend.  If  it  were  possi- 
ble for  him  to  survive  the  crucifixion,  its 
prolonged  torture,  and  the  wound  in  the 
side,  and  if  what  appeared  to  be  death  could  be 
supposed  to  have  been  only  a  swoon  from  which  he 
awoke,  how  could  his  life  in  a  mortal  body  have 
been  continued  ?  Where  did  he  go  ?  When  did 
he  really  die  ?  Such  a  continuation  of  his  earthly 
life,  if  all  other.difficulties  in  the  supposition  were  re- 
moved, could  only  have  taken  place  through  a  consum- 
mate effort  of  deceit  at  which  he  himself  connived. 
It  is  impossible  to  account  for  the  alleged  inter- 
views of  the  Apostles  with  the  risen  Jesus,  by  the 
No  hauaciua-  suppositiou  that  they  were  imaginary  and 
tion.  grew  out  of  an  idea  that,  being  the  Mes- 

siah, he  must  rise  from  the  tomb  and  appear  in 
bodily  form.  There  was  not  time  for  such  a  pro- 
cess of  reasoning  to  take  place  in  the  minds  of  the 
Disciples,  and  for  a  series  of  visions,  having  no  basis 
in  reality,  to  spring  out  of  it.  It  was  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  third  day  that,  as  they  aflBrmed,  he  ap- 
peared to  them.*  Nor  can  it  be  reasonably  thought 
that  real,  miraculous  visions  of  Jesus,  parted  from 

*  1  Cor.  XV.  4  ;   Mark  xvi.  3,  etc. 


84  CHIilSTIAN'  E  VIDE  NOES. 

the  body  and  entered  on  the  heavenly  life,  were 
granted  to  them.  This  explanation  is  prechided  by 
the  fact,  that  it  was  in  his  bodily  form  that  they  be- 
held him.  It  is  absolntely  excluded  by  the  circum- 
stances that  attended  his  manifestations  to  them. 
The  empty  "^^^^  tomb,  it  must  bo  remembered,  was 
tomb.  found  empty,  with  the  linen  clothes  left 

there,  and  the  napkin  folded  and  lying  by  itself.* 
The  body  could  not  have  been  carried  off  by  the 
enemies  of  Christ.  They  would  have  produced  it 
to  confute  the  assertion  that  he  had  risen.  It 
could  not  have  been  carried  away  and  hidden  by 
his  friends,  without  a  fraudulent  intent  on  their 
part,  which  none  at  the  present  day  would  impute 
to  them.  But  the  final,  unanswerable  proof  of  the 
The  inter-  rcsurrcction  is  in  the  character  of  the  in- 
views.  terviews  of  Jesus  with  his  followers.     On 

the  first  Sunday  there  were  five  of  these  meetings 
with  him.  They  were  inci*edulous,  but  he  over- 
came their  incredulity.  He  spoke  to  them  and  they 
with  him.  He  walked  with  them.  He  partook  of 
food  with  them.  They  touched  him.  One  of  them 
put  his  finger  upon  the  print  of  the  nails. '^  The 
reality  of  his  bodily  presence  was  attested  by  what 
Luke  justly  calls  "  infallible  proofs," '  appeals  to 
the  senses — appeals  of  such  number  and  variety  as 
rendered  the  idea  of  an  illusion  absurd. 

•  John  XX.  2  seq.;  Luke  xxvi.  3,  etc.  *  John  xx.  25  se^ 

«Actai3. 


TUE   GOSPELS  AND   THE  RESUIiRECTION,         85 

Add  to  these  considerations  a  fact  before  ad- 
verted to.  The  manifestations  of  Jesus  to  the 
disciples  were  limited  to  a  certain  number  of  in- 
The  limit  of  stances.  The  principal  of  these  Paul  re- 
time. £gj,g  ^^^  ^  -fg^y  others  are  related  in  the 
Gospels.  All  these  interviews  ceased  after  a  lim- 
ited, not  very  long  time.  Had  they  been  the  prod- 
uct of  imagination  and  enthusiasm,  they  would 
have  continued,  increasing  constantly  the  emotional 
excitement  out  of  which  they  sprung.  The  ablest 
representative  of  the  skeptical  schools  of  criticism 
confesses  that  no  explanation  can  be  given  of  the 
undoubting  and  immovable  faith  of  the  Apostles 
in  the  resurrection  of  Jesus.'  There  is  only  one 
reasonable  explanation — namely,  that  the  fact  oc- 
curred. 

1  F.  C.  Baur :   History  of  the  First  Three  Centuries,  p.  39.     H© 
even  calls  the  resurrection  a  "  wunder  "  (miracle). 


CHAPTEE  XL 

AliLEGED  ERROBS  OF  THE  APOSTLES  IN  MATTERS   OF  OPINION. 

In  answer  to  the  objection  that  the  Apostles  held 
to  erroneous  opinions  on  certain  subjects,  it  is  to  be 
Limits  of  their  ^aid,  in  the  first  place,  that  no  authority 
knowledge,  jg  claimed  for  the  Apostles,  and  no  supe- 
riority of  knowledge,  except  on  matters  involved  in 
their  mission,  or  in  the  work  specially  assigned  to 
them  by  Jesus.  They  did  not  themselves  pretend 
that  their  knowledge  of  astronomy,  or  of  other  sci- 
ences, was  beyond  that  of  their  Jewish  contempora- 
ries. In  these  particulars  they  may  have  been  greatly 
excelled  by  many  at  that  day. 

The  objection  has  no  force  unless  it  refers  to  al- 
leged errors  in  religious  opinion.  But  even  on  this 
subject  the  objection  is  irrelevant  unless  it  can  be 
shown  that  the  errors  in  question  would  invalidate 
their  testimony  to  the  facts  which  the  Gospels  record. 
If  the  question  before  us  concerned  the  nature  and 
limits  of  the  inspiration  of  the  Apostles,  it  would  be 
necessary  to  consider  it,  but  not  where  the  inquiry 
is  respecting  the  credibility  of  their  testimony. 

It  may  be  well,  however,  to  refer  to  some  points 


ALLEGED  ERRORS  OF  THE  APOSTLES.  87 

having  a  close  relation  to  religion,  and  in  regard  to 

which  it  is  said  that  the  Apostles  were  in  error. 

One  of  these  is  the  expectation  of  the 

Expectation  ,  r    /-ni      •  t  • 

of  the  second    sDcedy  sccond  commo*  or  Christ.     Let  it 

advent.  /  ^  i  ro 

be  observed  that  they  expressly  affirin 
that  the  time  of  his  second  coming  is  not  revealed. 
"Of  that  day  and  hour  knoweth no  man,  not  even  the 
angels  of  heaven,  neither  the  Son,  but  the  Father 
only."  ^  After  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  when  they 
asked  him  if  he  would  then  "  restore  the  kingdom 
to  Israel,"  he  gave  this  comprehensive  answer :  "  It 
is  not  for  you  to  know  times  or  seasons  which  the 
Father  hath  set  within  his  own  authority."  ^  The 
decision  of  all  these  questions  was  reserved  by  the 
Father,  and  was  not  disclosed  to  man.  We  read 
in  John's  Gospel  that  Jesus,  speaking  of  John,  said 
to  Peter :  "  If  I  will  that  he  tarry  till  I  come, 
what  is  that  to  thee  ? "  ^  This  occasioned  a  report 
"among  the  brethren"  that  John  "should  not  die." 
But  this  misconstruction  of  what  Jesus  had  said  is 
corrected."*  "  Suppose,"  says  Paley,  "  that  this  re- 
port had  come  down  to  us  among  the  prevailing 
opinions  of  the  early  Christians,  and  that  the  par- 
ticular circumstance  from  which  the  mistake  sprang 
had  been  lost  (which,  humanly  speaking,  was  most 
likely  to  have  been  the  case),  some  at  this  day  would 
have  been  ready  to  regard  and  quote  the  error  as  an 

1  Matt.  xxiv.  36.  a  Acts  i.  7  (Revised  Version). 

«  John  xxi  23.  *  Verse  23. 


88  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES. 

impeachment  of  the  whole  Christian  system."  "To 
those  who  think  tliat  the  Scriptures  lead  us  to  be- 
lieve that  the  early  Christians,  and  even  the  Apos- 
tles, expected  the  approach  of  the  day  of  judgment 
in  their  own  times,  the  same  reflection  will  occur  as 
that  which  we  have  made  with  respect  to  the  more 
partial,  perhaps,  and  temporary,  but  still  no  less  an- 
cient error,  concerning  the  duration  of  St.  John's 
life.  It  was  an  error,  it  may  be  likewise  said,  which 
would  effectually  hinder  those  who  entertained  it 
from  acting  the  part  of  impostors."  Those  who 
think  that  the  Apostles  expected  that  Christ  was  to 
come  soon,  should  not  be  surprised  to  find  traces  of 
this  personal  expectation  in  their  writings.  Nor 
ought  they  to  be  surprised  if  the  influence  of  this 
idea  is  found  to  tinge  the  abbreviated  reports  of  the 
predictive  utterances  of  Christ  which  are  presented 
in  the  Gospels. 

Another  difiiculty  in  the  New  Testament  narra- 
tives relates  to  what  is  said  of  demoniacs.     It  is 
represented  that  the  souls  of  men  were 

Demoniacs.  ,  ,,  .,         ...  ,        ♦    i3«    .     j 

possessed  by  evil  spirits,  who  inHictea  on 
them  physical  distempers — epilepsy,  lunacy,  etc. 
The  opinion  has  been  adopted  by  not  a  few  Chris- 
tian scholars  that  the  language  of  Christ  on  this 
subject  was  uttered  simply  by  way  of  accommoda- 
tion to  a  prevalent  belief,  and  in  order  to  effect 
the  cure  of  those  who  were  under  the  influence  of 
it.     In  other  words,  he  entered  into  the  idea  of  the 


aijLEged  errors  of  the  apostles.        89 

persons  thus  afflicted  with  disease — humored  the 
deUision,  as  it  were — as  a  means  of  causing  their 
recover}^,  and  of  assuring  them  of  it.  Their  mis- 
taken belief  was  harmless,  from  a  religious  point 
of  view,  and  Christ  was  under  no  obligation  to  dis- 
abuse them  of  it,  any  more  than  to  instruct  them 
on  the  causes  of  disease  in  genei-al,  and  to  clear 
their  minds  of  other  medical  delusions. 

Christian  scholars,  to  whom  this  solution  is  not 
satisfactory,  are  content  to  accept  as  real  the  fact 
of  demoniacal  possession  at  that  epoch  when  the 
minds  of  men  were  oppressed  and  distracted  by  the 
inward  conflict  with  evil.  It  was  an  extraordinary 
crisis  in  the  spiritual  life  of  individuals  and  of 
society.  Too  little  is  known  of  the  supernatural 
w^orld  to  warrant  a  dogmatic  denial  of  the  possibil- 
ity of  such  an  influence  exercised  by  evil  spii-its. 

On  either  of  the  views  just  stated,  it  remains 
true  that  the  facts  concerning  the  cure  of  the  so- 
called  demoniacs,  of  their  actual  deliv- 

Testimony  to  _ 

the  facts  not    eraucc  from  aoforravated  disorders,  are  au- 

weakened.  ,  ^  ^  •  mi 

thenticated  by  the  testimony.  The  ac- 
counts in  the  Gospels  of  the  healing  of  persons  of 
this  class  are  among  the  most  graphic  passages  in 
these  writings.  They  contain  internal  evidence  of 
their  verity.  Of  such  a  character  is  the  narrative  of 
the  madman  of  Gadara,  who  cut  himself  with  stones, 
and  made  his  abode  among  the  tombs.  Conversa- 
tions of  Jesus,  in  connection  with  miracles  of  this 


90  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES, 

kind,  conversations  of  unquestionable  authenticity, 
prove  the  reality  of  the  principal  facts  with  which 
they  are  associated. 

Difficulties  are  sometimes  raised  in  reference  to 
occasional  interpretations  of  Old  Testament  pas- 
inter  retation  ^agcs,  whicli  the  Apostles  introduce,  or 
and  reasoning,  ^q  certain  argumcuts  which  they  employ. 
Such  difficulties,  supposing  them  to  be  well- 
founded,  do  not  affect  the  value  of  their  testi- 
mony to  facts.  Some  would  contend  that  these 
difficulties  have  no  ground  to  rest  upon.  Others 
would  allow  with  Paley  that  we  must  "  distin- 
guish between  their  [the  Apostles']  doctrines  and 
their  arguments.  Their  doctrines  came  to  them 
by  revelation,  properly  so  called  ;  yet  in  propound- 
ing these  doctrines  in  their  writings  or  discourses, 
they  were  wont  to  illustrate,  support,  and  enforce 
them  by  such  analogies,  arguments,  and  considera- 
tions, as  their  own  thoughts  suggested."  Paley 
quotes  from  Bishop  Burnet  this  remark:  "When 
divine  writers  argue  upon  any  point,  we  are  always 
bound  to  believe  the  conclusions  their  reasonings 
end  in  ;  but  we  are. not  bound  to  be  able  to  make 
out,  or  even  to  assent  to,  all  the  premises  made  use 
of  by  them,  in  their  whole  extent,  unless  it  appears 
plainly  that  they  affirm  the  premises  as  expressly 
as  they  do  the  conclusions  proved  by  them.'  " 

» Paley's  Evidences,  P.  III.  ch.  II.     Burnet's  Exposition  of  the 
Articles,  Art.  6. 


CHAPTER  Xn. 

ALLEGED    DIFFICULTIES   IN    THE  CONNECTION  OF   CHRISTIANITY 
WITH   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT    RELIGIOUS    SYSTEM. 

Objections  are  frequently  made  to  Christianity 
on  the  ground  of  difficulties  connected  with  the 
Old  Testament,  and  with  references  to  the  Old  Tes- 
tament books  in  the  'New  Testament. 

That  the  religion  of  the  Old  Testament  is  rec- 
ognized in  the  New  as  from  God,  and  as  having  a 
divine  sanction,  distinguishing  it  from  the  religions 
Genetic  reia-  ^^  ^he  Gcntlles,  is  obvious.  That  Chris- 
tiaSitf  to^ju-'  tianity  has  a  genetic  connection  with  the 
daism.  religion  of  the  Jews,  is  a  plain  matter  of 

history.  And  the  contrast  between  the  religion  of 
the  Jews  and  the  religious  systems  of  other  nations, 
including  those  of  the  same  stock — as  the  Babylo- 
nians— is  an  impressive  proof  that  the  sanction  given 
to  it  by  Jesus  is  well  founded.  The  pure  mono- 
theism, the  character  ascribed  to  God,  the  teaching 
as  to  his  moral  and  providential  government,  the 
spirit  of  devotion  and  of  worship  inspired  by  this 
system  of  faith,  bear  witness  to  its  unique,  super- 
natural source. 


92  CBRISTIAN  EVIDENCES, 

Jesus  appealed  to  prophetical  passages  in  the  Old 

Testament,  as  pointing  to  the  kingdom  which  he 

was  to  establish,  and  to  the  Messiah,  its 

Recognition  of  ,  ,         -tt        t  t  ,i         • 

the  Old  Testa-  head.  He  disavowed,  moreover,  the  in- 
tention to  cast  discredit  on  the  prior 
revelations  of  law  and  duty,  made  in  times  of  old, 
to  Moses  and  the  prophets.  All  this  a  Christian 
accepts  both  on  the  authority  of  Jesus  as  a  teacher, 
and  on  account  of  its  inherent  reasonableness. 

But  neither  Christ  nor  the  Apostles  took  up  ques- 
tions respecting  the  authorship  and  date  of  Old 
Testament  writings — such  questions  as 
teaching  of  beloug  to  historfcal  and  scholarly  inquiry. 
Christ  refused  to  act  as  an  umpire  in  a 
dispute  about  an  inheritance,  saying :  "  Who  made 
me  a  judge  or  divider  over  you?"*  This  shows 
how  resolved  he  was  to  keep  within  the  limits  of 
his  own  distinctive  calling,  and  not  to  step  aside  to 
perform  ofSees,  which,  even  if  they  were  not  unim- 
portant, did  not  pertain  to  it.  We  have  a  right  as 
Christians  to  rest  on  the  declarations  of  Christ  on 
questions  respecting  which  he  has  pronounced  judg- 
ment— questions  on  which  he  professed  to  speak 
"  as  one  having  authority."  But  we  go  too  far 
when  we  stake  the  truth  of  Christianity  on  the  cor- 
rectness of  opinions  concerning  which  no  verdict 
was  intended  to  be  pronounced  by  Christ  or  his 
Apostles. 

>  Lake  xii.  li. 


RELATION  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  TO  THE  OLD.  93 

But  Christ  did  teach  emphatically  the  gradual- 
ness  of  divine  revelation,  and  the  consequent  im- 
perfection of  religious  knowledge,  and  of 
nesaof  divine  the  knovi^ledgo  of  dutv  under  the  old  dis- 

revelation.  ,  ^  ^^         ,      _ 

pensation.  ihere  was  a  Mosaic  law  re- 
specting divorce,  which  fell  short  of  the  Christian 
ideal.  It  w^as  given,  Christ  taught,  on  account  of 
the  hardness  of  heart  of  the  people,  who  were  pre- 
pared for  nothing  better/  He  substituted  for  it 
another,  more  stringent  enactment.  John  the  Bap- 
tist, he  said,  was  inferior  to  no  prophet ;  yet  the  least 
Christian  disciple  was  greater  than  he — was  pos- 
sessed of  more  light,  and  stood  on  a  higher  plane 
as  regards  the  perception  of  God's  plans  and  ways.^ 
The  recollection  of  the  gradualness  of  the  revela- 
tion of  God  and  of  religious  truth  sets  aside  at  once 
numerous  difficulties  which  have  been  alleged  re- 
specting the  teaching  of  the  Old  Testament  Script- 
ures, as  well  as  concerning  the  lives  and  the  charac- 
ter of  persons  described  and  commended  in  them. 

In  truth,  the  connection  of  the  faith  of  Israel 
with  Christianity  most  impressively  indicates  the 
The  plan  of  ^iviuo  oHgiu  of  tlio  religlou  of  Jesus. 
history.  ^Q  behold  the  long  course  of  this  his- 

torical movement — starting  in  the  remote  past, 
flowing  onward,  like  a  river,  through  all  the  cen- 
turies before  Christ,  until  there  it  widens  into  a  sea 
that  spreads  more  and  more,  as  the  ages  succeed 

'  Matt.  xix.  8 ;  Mark  x.  5.  »  Matt.  xi.  11  ;  Luke  vii  Sd 


94  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES. 

one  another,  over  the  surface  of  the  globe.  As  the 
birth  of  Christ  divides  history  into  two  parts,  so  his 
coming  furnishes  the  clue  to  the  understanding  of 
it.  His  offices  of  love  and  mercy  to  the  race  unveil 
the  purpose  of  God,  the  interpretation  of  his  plan, 
as  regards  mankind,  including  Jew  and  Gentile, 
both  before  and  since  the  Saviour  of  the  world 
appeared.  To  each  branch  of  the  human  race,  to 
each  of  the  nations  of  the  earth,  Providence  assigned 
the  place  and  the  period  of  its  existence,  guiding 
and  training  all,  to  the  end  that  they  might  seek 
after  God,  and  fulfil,  each  its  allotted  part,  in  the 
world-wide  kingdom  which  Christ  was  sent  to  es- 
tablish. 


CHAPTER  Xni. 

PROOF    OF   CHBISTIANITY   FROM   PROPHECT. 

Prophecy  is  a  species  of  miracle.  There  are  limits 
to  the  power  of  human  foresight.  The  field  beyond 
Nature  of  the  ^^  opcn  to  conjcctiire,  but  is  excluded  from 
argument.  triistwortliy  prediction.  Prophecy  which 
is  fulfilled  under  circumstances  that  forbid  the  sup- 
position of  mere  coincidence  or  accident,  and  the 
supposition  that  it  causes  its  own  fulfilment  through 
some  influence  exerted  by  it,  necessarily  involves 
supernatural  agency.  Nothing  else  can  account  for 
the  conformity  of  the  event  with  the  prediction.  If 
it  could  be  shown  respecting  one  who  utters  predic- 
tions that  in  some  instances  they  fail  of  accomplish- 
ment, even  then  the  cases  in  which  they  are  veri- 
fied, provided  they  cannot  be  resolved  into  fortunate 
guesses,  prove  that  at  certain  times,  or  to  a  certain 
degree,  he  is  gifted  with  superhuman  foresight. 

The  Old  Testament  contains  a  large  predictive  ele- 
ment. It  might  be  said  with  truth  that  a  stream  of 
Prophecy  per-  P^'^pli^cy  ruus  through  the  Old  Testament 
o*d  Teita*^^  Scriptures.  The  religious  guides  of  the 
ment.  Hcbrew  people  ever  looked  forward  to  a 

grand  future  for  which  the  present  was  only  a  prepa- 


96  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES. 

ration.  There  are  three  striking  particulars  in  which 
this  prophetic  character  of  Old  Testament  teaching, 
and  of  the  devotional  utterances  connected  with 
it,  appears.  First,  there  is  to  be  a  great  improve- 
ment in  the  ]'eligion  itself.  It  is  to  take  on  a 
purer,  more  spiritual  form.^  Secondly,  it  is  to  have 
ji  world-wide  predominance.''  The  heathen  nations 
are  to  embrace  it,  or  to  be  brought  under  its 
sway.  The  whole  earth  is  to  acknowledge  Jehovah. 
Thirdly,  this  spread  and  domination  of  the  Old 
Testament  religion  is  to  be  secured  by  the  Messiah. 
A  great  leader,  guide,  prince  is  to  appear,  under 
w^hom  the  kingdom  of  God  is  to  become  universal. 
Righteousness  and  blessing  are  to  attend  its  prog- 
ress. The  prophetic  pictures  vary  in  form.  Ele- 
ments derived  from  the  kingdom  of  the  Jews  and 
from  their  religion  in  its  then  existing  form  natur- 
ally colored  the  anticipations  and  mingled  in  the 
visions  of  the  seer  and  the  saint.  But  these  sub- 
ordinate features,  in  which  propliecy  varies  from 
actual  experience  or  accurately  written  history,  do 
not  lessen  the  profound  impression  which  these  pre- 
dictive declarations  of  the  Old  Testament,  viewed 
in  connection  with  what  we  know  of  Christ  and  of 
Christianity,  are  adapted  to  make.  The  insight  of 
the  prophets  into  the  plan  of  God  has  been  verified 
in  the  events  of  subsequent  ages,  down  to  the  pre* 
ent  time. 

»  Jeremiah  xxxi.  31-35.  *  Is.  ii.  2,  eta 


PROOF  OF  CHRISTIANITY  FROM  FIWrilEGY,      97 

There  was  a  class  of  prophets  among  the  He- 
brews. To  foretell  future  events  was  OT\\y  an  inci- 
The  class  of  dental,  it  was  not  the  principal,  function  of 
propheta".        ^j^^-^.  ^'^^^^   r^^iey  prof csscd  to  bc  Called  of 

God  to  instruct,  to  encourage,  and  to  warn  the  people. 
They  spoke  with  an  eloqnence  which  made  men  feel 
that  they  were  animated  by  an  influence  from  above, 
and  that  God  spoke  through  them.  This  was  true, 
for  example,  of  the  Prophet  Isaiah.  A  part  of  their 
predictions  cover  the  points  referred  to  in  the  pre- 
ceding remarks.  The  coming  perfection  and  glory 
of  the  kingdom,  and  of  the  Messiah  its  head,  was 
their  theme.  But,  besides  these  prophecies  of  a 
more  general  nature,  there  were  uttered,  in  special 
Particular  exigcncics,  prcdictious  of  particular  events 
predictions,  j^^  ^^iQ  near  or  more  distant  future.  They 
were  prophecies  which  did  not  spring  from  any 
statesmanlike  sagacity  or  power  of  forecast.  The 
prophets  might  be  called  from  humble  vocations  in 
life.  Amos  was  a  herdsman.  The  prophetic  insight, 
or  foresight,  went  beyond  the  possible  reach  of  hu- 
man calculation.  An  instance  of  prophecy  of  the 
kind  here  referred  to  is  the  predictions  of  Isaiah 
respecting  the  rapidly  approaching  downfall  of  the 
kingdoms  of  Israel  and  Syria,  which  had  concluded 
an  alliance  with  each  other,  and  of  the  failure  of 
their  project  against  Judah.'  Another  instance  is 
Isaiah's  prophecy  of  the  failure  of  the  powerful 

^  Isaiah  vii 


9S  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENGl'lS. 

army  oi:  the  Assyrian  king,  Sennacherib,  in  his 
siege  of  Jerusalem.^  Among  the  prophecies  respect- 
ing the  Messiah  and  his  work,  the  passage  in  Isaiah 
concerning  the  servant  of  God  is  remarkable.'*  It 
contains  verses  which  cannot  refer  to  the  people  as  a 
body,  or  to  the  pious  kernel  of  the  nation.  Of  such 
a  character  is  verse  6 :  "  All  w^e  have  gone  astray  ; 
we  have  turned  every  one  to  his  own  w^ay ;  and  the 
7jord  hath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all."  The 
prophecy  has  reference  to  one  individual,  and  its 
correspondence  to  the  experience  of  Christ  is  close. 
That  Jesus  himself  foretold  the  coming  destruction 
of  Jerusalem  is  proved  by  the  testimony  of  the  first 
three  Evangelists.  More  impressive  than  the  pre- 
diction of  any  single  event  is  the  foreknowledge  he 
had  of  the  spread  of  the  Gospel  and  of  the  victory 
of  his  kingdom.  It  was  to  grow  like  the  mustard- 
seed,  and  to  spread  its  influence  like  the  hidden 
leaven. 

1  Isaiah  xxjvii.  21  neq.  "  Isaiah  lii  13-liv, 


CHAPTEK  XIV. 

ARGUMENT  FOR  CHRISTIANITY  FROM   THE  CONVERSION  AND  THE 
CAREER  OF  THE  APOSTLE  PAUL. 

About  four  years  after  the  crucifixion,  Saul  of 
Tarsus,  a  man  of  great  ability  and  sincerity,  who 
belonged  to  the  sect  of  the  Pharisees,  was  trained  in 
a  rabbinical  school  at  Jerusalem,  and  was  zealous  in 
persecuting  Christian  disciples,  was  converted,  and 
became  the  principal  agent  in  planting  the  Gospel 
in  the  cities  of  the  Koman  Empire.  His  conversion 
was  sudden.  "  It  pleased  God,"  he  says,  "  to  reveal 
his  Son  in  me,  that  I  might  preach  him  among 
the  heathen." '  The  particulars  of  his  conversion, 
when  he  was  on  the  road  to  Damascus,  on  an  errand 
of  persecution,  are  related  by  Luke  in  the  Acts. 
Miraculous  circumstances  attended  it.'* 

It  is  impossible  to  account  for  this  event  by  merely 
natural  causes.  The  only  theory  of  this  nature  which 
His  state  of  ^^^®  ^^^^  advauccd  is  the  one  to  which  we 
^^^^'  have  adverted  on  a  preceding  page^ — the 

theory  of  hallucination.  But,  as  we  have  said,  his 
was  not  the  state  of  mind  out  of  which  an  illusion  of 
this  sort  could  be  engendered.     He  expressly  states 

»  Gal.  i.  16.  a  Acts  ix.  2  seq. ,  xxii.  5  seq.  «  Page  88. 


100  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES, 

that  lie  had  no  misgivings  in  regard  to  the  rectitude 
of  the  course  he  was  pursuing.  '^  I  verily  thought 
with  myself  that  I  ought  to  do  many  things  contrary 
to  the  name  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth."  ^  He  had  been 
a  persecutor,  he  tells  us,  but  found  mercy  because  he 
"did  it  ignorantly,  in  unbelief."^  He  was,  to  be 
sure,  engaged  in  a  hard,  wearisome  struggle  to  live  up 
to  his  idea  of  legal  righteousness.  The  yoke  of  the 
law  pressed  heavily  upon  him.  This  was  a  silent,  un- 
conscious preparation  for  the  relief  which  the  Gospel 
was  to  afford ;  but  the  immediate  effect  of  this  con- 
scientious legalism  was  not  to  excite  in  him  the  least 
favor  to  the  Christian  cause,  the  least  inclination  to 
regard  Jesus  as  the  Messiah.  The  effect,  on  the  con- 
trary, was  to  increase  his  zeal  in  putting  down  what 
he  considered  a  wicked  and  baneful  heresy.  As  we 
have  remarked,  the  expression,  "  It  is  hard  for  thee 
to  kick  against  the  pricks,"  does  not  imply,  or  re- 
motely suggest,  the  presence  in  his  mind  of  com- 
punction or  inward  opposition  to  the  work  in  which 
he  was  engaged.  It  was  a  proverbial  expression,  sig- 
nifying that  he  was  embarked  in  a  futile  enterprise — 
one  that  would  not  avail  to  crush  the  cause  of  Christ, 
but  would,  the  longer  he  persevered  in  it,  harm 
himself  the  more.  The  metaphor  was  taken  from 
the  conflict  of  oxen  with  the  driver  behind  them, 
and  their  vain  attempt  to  resist  him  by  kicking 
against  the  goad. 

»  Acts  xxvi.  9,  a  1  Tim.  i.  13, 


PROOF  FROM  TjIE  CdNVEIxriO]'!  OF  Ji  U>.      101 

To  say  that  the  occurrence  which  turned  Paul 
from  an  ardent  enemy  to  a  devoted  friend  of  the 
Was  it  a  cause  of  the  Gospel  was  only  "  a  vision  " 
♦* vision"?  explains  nothing.  If  it  were  only  a  vis- 
ion it  would  be  necessary  to  show  how  a  vision  of 
that  character  could  take  place,  save  by  supernatural 
agency.  But  it  has  been  explained  how  the  Apostle 
distinctly  implies  that  the  perception  which  he  had 
of  Christ  at  his  conversion  was  of  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent character  from  the  disclosures  which  he  sub- 
sequently had  in  apocalyptic  visions.^ 

Besides  the  miracle  involved,  the  conversion  of 
Paul  was  a  wonderful  transformation  of  character. 
Change  of  His  wliolo  aim  in  life  was  changed, 
character.  ^]ong  with  this  rcvolutiou  of  purpose 
there  arose  within  him  new  tempers  of  heart — the 
spirit  of  humility  and  love,  of  patience  and  forgive- 
ness ;  in  a  word,  the  spirit  of  Christ. 

The  result  of  that  incident  on  the  road  to  Damas- 
cus was  the  marvellous  career  of  Paul  as  a  preacher 
of  Christianity,  and  a  most  remarkable  and  success- 
ful propagator  of  the  faith  which  he  had  been  tram- 
pling under  foot.  How  different  would  the  history 
of  Europe  have  been,  how  different  the  history  of 
mankind,  had  the  labors  of  Paul  as  an  apostle  of  the 
Cross  never  been  performed  ! 

It  is  important  to  add  that  the  Apostle  Paul  him- 
self wrought  miracles.     We  have  his  word  for  it, 

1 1  Cor.  XV.  8. 


102  '  cmtisniN  FjVidences, 

and  no  one  doubts  his  truthfulness.     In  the  Epistle 

to  the  Eomans,  he  explicitly  refers  to  "  the  mighty 

siOTS   and  wonders"   which   Christ  had 

Miracles. 

wrought  by  him/  So  he  reminds  the 
Corinthians,  in  his  Second  Epistle  to  them,  of  "  the 
signs  and  wonders  and  mighty  deeds "  which  had 
been  wrought  by  him  before  their  eyes.^  They  were 
"  signs  "  of  ''  the  Apostle ; "  that  is,  of  the  Apostolic 
office.  Now  we  find  that  the  direction  to  work 
miracles  was  in  the  commission  given  by  Christ  to 
the  Apostles.'  It  cannot  reasonably  be  doubted  that 
the  miracles  of  Paul  and  of  the  other  Apostles  were 
consciously  done  in  pursuance  of  this  commission. 
It  is  safe  to  conclude  that  Jesus  himself  professed  to 
work  miracles,  and  that  the  Apostles,  in  this  par- 
ticular, had  not  only  his  precept,  but  his  example 
before  them. 

1  Rom.  XV.  19.  a  3  Cor.  xii  13. 

s  Matt.  X.  1,  8 ;  Mark  iii  15,  etc. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

PROOF   OF   THE   DIVINE    ORIGIN    OF    CHRISTIANITY    FROM    THE 
INTRINSIC   EXCELLENCE   OF    THE   CHRISTIAN    SYSTEM. 

In  paving  the  way  for  the  consideration  of  the 
evidence  for  miracles,  prominent  peculiarities  of 
Christianity,  including  the  character  of  Jesus,  were 
touched  upon.  Brief  additional  observations  will 
here  be  made  on  leading  features  of  the  Gospel. 

The  Christian  conception  of  God  represents  him 
as  a  being  who  unites  with  infinite  power  and  wis- 
dom the  moral  attributes  of  holiness  and 
love.     He  does  not,  as  in  the  creed  of 
Deism,  stand  apart  from  the  world,  nor  is  he,  as  in 
the  creed  of  Pantheism,  identified  with  it.     He  is 
immanent  in  the  world,  present  with  his  all-pervad- 
ing energy,  "  not  far  from  any  one  of  us,"  yet  per- 
sonal, acquainted  with  all  our  thoughts, 
and  hearing  prayer.     Man  is  declared  to 
be  made  in  the  image  of  God,  and  qualified,  there- 
fore, for  conscious  intercourse  and  fellowship  with 
him.     Moral  evil  is  not  confounded  with  physical 
evil,  or  made  its  product,  but  is  traced 
back  to  the  voluntary  separation  of  man- 
kind from  God,  and  to  the  consequent  rule  in  their 


104  CBRISTIAN  EVIDENCES, 

nature  of  propensities  which  ought  to  be  kept  sub- 
ordinate.    In  the  recovery  of  mankind,  "  the  axe  is 
laid  at  the  root  of  the  tree."     In  the  Re- 
storer, Jesus  Christ,  God  is  manifested, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  the  ideal  of  human  perfec- 
tion is  realized.    God  is  re-connected  with  mankind. 
Eeconciliation  is  effected  in  a  way  that  brings  no 
cloud  upon  the  holiness  of  the  divine  character  and 
government.    In  Christ,  the  life  of  communion  with 
the  divine  Father,  and  of  peace  in  that  re- 

The  Chris-  .  .  .  .         ,     ,         t  ^.  .  , 

tian'a  inward    latiou,  IS  maintained  m  the  connict  with 

life.  ' 

temptation,  in  the  face  of  the  world's 
hatred,  and  on  the  cross.  That  inward  life  is  com- 
municated to  all  who  are  attracted  to  him  as  dis- 
ciples and  followers.  It  is  nourished  within  them 
by  the  invisible  Spirit,  replacing  his  visible  pres- 
ence. In  the  new  relation  to  Christ,  and  through 
him  to  the  Father,  they  detach  themselves  from 
every  earthly  object  regarded  as  an  idol,  or  an  in- 
dispensable good,  and  thus  gain  strength  to  endure 
"  the  loss  of  all  things."  They  form  a  community 
of  the  children  of  God,  drawing  within  itself  all 
who  aspire  after  the  life  of  sonship  and  of  oneness 
with  the  Father.  Life  on  the  earth  becomes  a 
school  for  the  training  of  the  soul  for  a  higher  state 
of  existence  in  the  future.  To  them,  all  suffering 
is  the  chastisement  of  a  Father,  and  death  is  a  door 
of  access  to  a  heavenly  abode.  The  entire  course 
of  events,  including  the  most  minute,  is  ordered  of 


PROOF  FROM  THE  CHRISTIAN  SYSTEM.        105 

God,  60  that  all  things  work  together  for  good  to 
them  that  love  him. 

To  use  the  world,  and  not  abuse  it,  to  enjoy  the 
world  without  being  a  slave  to  it,  is  the  Christian's 
The  Gospel  privilege.  An  excessive  value  is  to  be 
not  ascetic,  attached  to  no  form  of  earthly  happiness ; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  asceticism,  together  with  a 
cynical  contempt  for  human  relations  and  pleasures, 
is  equally  precluded. 

Christianity  is  a  religion  of  principles,  not  of 
rules.  In  the  room  of  specific  and  minute  pre- 
cepts, it  sets  forth  the  great  ends  with 
religion  of       reference  to  which  conduct  is  to  be  shaped. 

principles.  ._  -   ^   >  i  i  i  •t.t-i 

i3ut  withm  these  bounds  the  individual 
is  left,  for  the  most  part,  to  be  guided  by  his  own 
intelligence  and  moral  sense.  The  aim  is  to  mould 
aright  the  leading  motives  of  action,  so  that  a  man 
shall  be  a  law  to  himself,  and  spontaneity  shall  take 
the  place  of  legal  restraint.  The  supreme  law  is 
affirmed  to  be  love,  than  which  no  higher  or  more 
comprehensive  principle  of  action  can  be  imagined. 
Discipleship  is  not  a  literal  imitation  of  Christ,  a 
copying  of  his  particular  actions,  but  rather  the  liv- 
ing appropriation  of  his  spirit.  No  type  of  goodness 
more  worthy  can  be  conceived  of  than  the  one  pre- 
sented in  the  actual  life  of  Jesus. 

Christianity  is  adapted  to  be  the  religion  of  the 
world.  It  has  all  the  requisites  of  a  universal  re- 
ligion.    It  teaches  the  equality  of  the  race  before 


106  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES. 

God,  the  brotherhood  of  mankind,  the  common  d^ 

pravity  of  men,  and  the  consequent  common  need 

of  foimveness  and  of  deliverance  from 

Christianity  .  ^  .  .  t     i    .         ,        ^ 

adapted  to      sm.     Ihc  salvation  providcd  m  the  Gos- 

mankind.  *-  ^ 

pel  IS  suited,  not  to  any  single  nation  or 
to  any  branch  of  the  human  family  exclusively,  but 
equally  to  every  member  of  the  race.  In  the  com- 
munity of  Christ  there  is  neither  Greek  nor  Jew, 
bond  nor  free,  male  nor  female/  The  "good  news" 
of  the  love  of  God  to  the  ill-deserving  is  to  be  car- 
ried to  "every  creature."  With  the  proclamation 
of  human  guilt  and  sin,  there  are  carried  the  tidings 
of  an  atonement,  of  pardon,  of  the  means  of  puri- 
fication. 

Can  a  religion  having  this  lofty  character  and 
this  adaptation  to  the  world  be  attributed  to  the 
Galilean  laborers  who  were  concerned  in  the  first 
teaching  of  it?  Can  it  be  considered  as  the  off- 
spring  of  merely  human  purity  and  wisdom  ? 
1  GaL  iii  S8 ;  Col.  iii.  11, 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

PROOF    AFFORDED    BY    THE    CONTRAST    OF    CHRISTIANITY    WITS 
OTHER   RELIGIONS    AND   WITH    PHILOSOPHICAL   SYSTEMS. 

Christianity,  when  it  is  compared  with  the  other 
religions  of  the  world,  is  seen  to  be  the  one  true,  or 
absolute  religion.  It  is  free  from  the  defects  that 
belong  to  them.  It  supplies  the  elements  which  are 
missing  in  them.  It  fills  out  what  is  wanting  in  an 
inchoate  system,  true  in  its  foundations,  but  incom- 
plete, as  was  the  religion  of  the  Old  Testament. 

The  religion  of  the  ancient  Persians,  the  worship- 
pers of  light,  who  professed  to  derive  their  faith 
Thezoroas-  from  Zoroastcr,  divided  the  empire  of  the 
trian  religion,  ^^^j.j^j  betwoou  two  antagonistic  deities. 
The  creed  was  dualism,  a  theory  that  also  mingles 
itself  in  the  Pantheistic  religions  of  India.  Con' 
fucius,  the  sa2:e  of  China,  was  a  moral- 

Confuoius.  ,  _:  ^  1  r  1   .       1  i 

ist.  He  was  the  author  oi  ethical  and 
political  precepts  not  without  value,  but  he  made 
no  claim  to  reveal  things  invisible.  It  is  often  said 
that  the  golden  rule  is  found  in  Confucius.  But  in 
Originality  of  him,  and  in  every  other  ethnic  writer  to 
the  Gospel.  ^j^Qm  it  is  ascribod,  it  occurs  either  in 
a  negative  form,  or  merely  in  some  particular  rela- 


108  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES. 

tion — for  example,  as  defining  the  duty  of  the  parent 
to  the  child.  The  same  thing  is  true  of  the  golden 
rule  as  it  is  found  in  the  Kabbis.  Two  or  three  sen- 
tences of  the  Lord's  Prayer  appear  to  have  existed 
in  earlier  Jewish  forms  of  devotion.  The  originality 
of  Jesus  is  seen  in  the  addition  of  these  to  the  other 
petitions,  and  the  union  of  all  in  a  living  whole ; 
just  as  the  golden  rule  acquires  a  deeper  meaning 
when  it  is  coupled  with  his  teaching  on  what  man 
ought  to  desire  for  himself  and  to  count  as  the  true 
good.  But  the  originality  of  the  Gospel  lies  especial- 
ly in  the  relation  of  its  moral  procepts  to  religions 
doctrine,  and  to  the  new  life  which  is  implanted 
through  the  connection  of  the  believer  with  Christ. 
The  only  two  religions,  besides  the  religion  of 
Christ,  which  can  pretend  to  the  character  of  univer- 
Mohamme-  sality,  are  Mohammedanism  and  Buddh- 
damsm.  j^^^  Mohammcdanism  derived  its  mate- 
rials from  Kabbinical  sources,  and  thus,  indirectly, 
from  the  Old  Testament  revelation.  In  its  ear- 
nest faith  in  the  unity  of  God,  and  in  its  protest 
against  idolatry,  it  was  in  sympathy  with  the  teach- 
ing of  the  Bible.  In  these  doctrines,  heartily  em- 
braced, lay  the  secret  of  the  power  of  Islam,  as  far 
as  that  power  was  legitimate.  But  there  w^ere  two 
grand  defects  in  its  theology.  There  was  no  snch 
exaltation  of  the  love  of  God,  the  highest  attribute 
of  his  character,  as  the  Bible  contains ;  and  there 
was  no  room  for  the  unfolding  of  a  grander  future. 


CHRISTIANITY  AND   OTHER  SYSTEMS.         109 

feuch  as  the  Messianic  hope  of  the  Old  Testament 
involved.  The  moral  code  of  Islam  includes  a  sanc- 
tion of  polygamy  and  slavery.  The  desire  of  sensual 
gratification  enters  into  the  hope  of  paradise,  and 
this  reward  is  held  out  as  one  motive  to  the  be- 
liever. Under  Mohammedanism,  woman  can  never 
rise  above  a  degraded  condition,  or  approach  that 
equality  with  man  which  Christianity  has  secured 
for  her.  Mohammedanism  is  a  religion  to  be  propa- 
gated by  force,  the  employment  of  which  for  the 
overcoming  of  error  Christianity  forbids.  It  is, 
moreover,  the  religion  of  the  letter.  The  disciple 
is  forever  bound  to  observe  all  the  special  precepts 
of  the  Koran.  There  is  only  a  nominal  and  igno- 
rant recognition  of  Christ.  The  elevating  and  con- 
soling influences  which,  to  the  Christian  mind,  con- 
nect themselves  with  the  name  of  Jesus,  are  want- 
ing in  the  creed  of  the  Mohammedan  devotee. 

Owing  to  these  characteristics  of  Islam  it  is  not 
capable  of  advancing  the  nations  that  embrace  it 
beyond  a  certain  stage  of  progress.  There  civiliza- 
tion, all  that  pertains  to  the  higher  life  of  man,  is 
petrified  in  immovable  forms,  or  gives  way  to  de- 
crepitude and  decay. 

Buddhism  inculcated  certain  virtues.  It  enjoined 
self-conquest  and  universal  kindness.  It  laid  down 
a  number  of  special  precepts  which  resem- 
ble injunctions  of  the  New  Testament 
But  these  moral  rules  are  linked  in  Buddhism  with 


no  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES, 

a  system  of  Pantheism  and  with  the  exhortation  to 
renounce  the  desire  of  a  future  life.  The  doctrine 
of  "Karma"  involves  no  such  thing  as  continued 
personal  identity  and  immortality.  Nirvana,  the 
state  of  bliss,  is  tranquillity  here,  and  extinction,  as 
far  as  identity  of  consciousness  is  concerned,  here- 
after. Buddhism  promised  a  release  from  the  bur- 
dens of  caste  and  the  dread  of  transmigration.  This 
negative  good  was  the  boon  which  it  offered,  and 
accounts  for  its  progress  in  the  land  of  its  origin. 
But  the  Buddhistic  religion  brought  in  an  ascetic,  a 
monkish  system  hardly  less  fruitful  of  misery  than 
the  two-fold  curse  which  it  aimed  to  displace.  "  In 
it  we  have  an  ethical  system  but  no  lawgiver,  a 
world  without  a  creator,  a  salvation  without  eternal 
life,  and  a  sense  of  evil  but  no  conception  of  par- 
don, atonement,  reconciliation,  or  redemption."  ^ 

In  ancient  times  there  were  systems  of  philos- 
ophy which  sought  to  afford  light  and  solace  to  the 
minds  of  men.     Socrates,  the  best  of  the 
heathen  teachers,  although  he  believed  in 
a  supreme  Deity,  still  held  also  to  "  lords  many  and 
£i:ods  many  "  and  mino-led  with  the  hope 

Socrates.  ^_  .         \,r  -i       •  r-      i        i 

of  another  life  an   admixture  oi  doubt. 

He  felt  the  need  of  some  sure  "word  of  God"  to 
guide  us  in  the  right  way.*  Plato  taught 
that  virtue  is  likeness  to  God  according 

to  the  measure  of  human  power ;  but  his  concep- 

1  T.  W.  Rhys  Davids,  in  Non-Christian  Religions,  p.  131.     «  Apol.  21 


CHRISTIANITY  AND   OTHER  SYSTEMS.  lU 

tion  of  God,  both  as  to  his  natural  and  moral  at- 
tributes, fell  decidedly  below  that  of  Christian  the- 
ism. Moreover,  to  the  question  how  to  attain  to 
such  a  resemblance  to  God,  how  to  conquer  the  evil 
within  us,  he  could  give  no  satisfactory  answer.  lie 
mistook  the  source  of  moral  evil,  which  he  made  to 
be  chiefly  ignorance  ;  and  philosophy,  which  he  con- 
ceived of  as  the  proper  remedy  for  such  a  malady, 
he  held  that  only  a  few  were  competent  to  under- 
stand. The  two  systems  most  in  vogue  when  the 
Gospel  was  first  preached  in  the  Eoman  Empire 
were  Epicureanism  and  Stoicism.  It  was  Epicure- 
ans and  Stoics  who  encountered  the  Apostle  Paul 
The  Epicure-  ^^  Atlicns,^  Tlio  Epicurcaus  disconnected 
^^^'  the  gods  from  all  concern  with  the  af- 

fairs of  men.   They  were  practically  atheists.    They 
made  the  sum  of  human  virtue  to  be  a  self-regard- 
ins:  prudence.    Stoicism  was  a  nobler  sys- 

The  stoics.  *  ^      _  .    .        _  ,  _  "^ 

tem.  It  enjomed,  as  the  source  of  peace, 
resignation  to  the  divine  will ;  but  that  divine  will 
was  indistinguishable  from  fate,  and  the  repose  of 
mind  of  the  Stoic  sage  was  gained  at  the  cost  of 
quelling  and  chilling  the  natural  emotions.  In  the 
room  of  fellowship  with  Zeus,  the  Supreme  One, 
the  thing  aimed  at  was  an  independence  of  Zeus,  a 
proud  self-reliance.  Suicide  was  held  to  be  lawful, 
and  might  be  expedient ;  for  notwithstanding  all 
that  was  said  of  the  wise  order  of  the  world,  there 

» Acts  xvii.  18. 


112  CHRISTIAN'  EVIDENCES. 

were  situations,  it  was  thought,  when  a  man  was 
bound  by  self-respect  to  put  an  end  to  his  own  life. 
In  the  Stoic  system,  there  was  no  rational  motive 
for  the  existence  of  the  world.  There  was  no  good 
to  be  attained  by  the  divine  Providence  of  which 
the  Stoic  spoke ;  for  all  things  were  to  issue  in  a 
universal  conflagration. 

In  contrast  with  all  the  ancient  systems  of  phi- 
losophy, Christianity  brought  forward  such  a  con- 
ception of  God  that  the  precept  to  be 
andphuos-  like  liim  was  intelligible  and  could  be 
profitably  obeyed.  It  brought  forward 
the  truth  of  a  Providence  of  God,  extending  over 
all  persons  and  events,  a  universal  care  compre- 
hending the  least  of  God's  creatures,  and  causing 
all  things  to  conspire  to  promote  the  well-being  of 
his  children.  Natural  sensibility  is  not  petrified. 
Natural  emotions  and  affections  are  left  in  healthy 
activity,  but  trust  in  the  fatherly  love  and  wisdom 
of  God  enables  the  afiiicted  to  be  at  peace.  More- 
over, in  distinction  from  all  other  religions  and  phi- 
losophies, Christianity  provides  redemption.  That 
is  to  say,  while  it  holds  up  the  ideal  of  perfection, 
the  law  of  righteousness,  it  provides,  at  the  same 
time,  effectual  means  of  attaining,  through  Jesus 
Christ,  to  the  partial,  and  ultimately  to  the  com- 
plete, realization  of  it. 

"When  the  incomparable  superiority  of  the  Chris- 
tian system  over  the  other  religions  of  the  world 


CHRISTTANITY  AND   OTHER  SYSTEMS.  113 

and  over  the  highest  achievements  of  philosophy 
is  duly  appreciated,  it  appears  unreasonable  to  think 
that  Christianity  sprang  from  the  unaided  intel- 
ligence of  the  humble,  unlettered  Hebrews  who 
were  the  instruments  of  publishing  its  truths  to 
the  world. 


CHAPTER  XVn. 

CORROBOBAITVE     PEOOF     OF     THE     TRUTH     OF     OHEISTIANITl 
FEOM   ITS   UTILITY. 

As  pernicious  tendencies  and  consequences  would 
prove  that  a  religion  is  false,  so  a  demonstrated 
beneficence  is  evidence,  not  without  weight,  that 
the  system  of  religion  having  this  tendency  and  ef- 
fect is  true.  It  is  said  of  certain  heathen  religions 
and  of  Mohammedanism  that  they  are  productive 
of  good.  This  is  conceded  up  to  a  certain  degree. 
This  result  may  be  attributed  to  elements  of  truth 
which  they  contain.  But  Christianity  differs  in  be- 
ing useful  without  any  drawback,  and  to  an  extent 
wholly  without  parallel. 

Christ  styled  his  followers  "  the  light  of  the 
world"  and  "the  salt  of  the  earth."  This  they 
Light  and  proved  themselves  to  be.  They  failed 
^^*^*  then,  as   afterwards,  to  live   up  to  the 

standard  of  Christian  character  and  conduct.  Never- 
theless, Christianity  illuminated  the  world,  pouring 
a  flood  of  light  on  man  and  his  relations  to  God,  on 
human  duties,  and  the  design  and  issues  of  our  life 
on  earth.    And  Christianity  powerfully  and  effectu- 


THE    UTILITY   OF  CURISTIAXITY,  115 

ally  connteracted  the  tendencies  to  demoralization 
and  ruin.  It  rescued  society  from  the  decay  and 
moral  putrefaction  into  which  it  was  rapidly  sink- 
ing. In  the  midst  of  a  falling  world,  it  planted  the 
seeds  of  a  better  civilization. 

Christianity  asserted  the  incalculable  worth  of 
every  human  soul.  It  declared  that  no  individual 
Effects  of  is  made  to  be  the  m.ere  instrument  of 
Christianity,  ^notlier's  gratification.  The  welfare  of 
every  individual  is  an  end  in  itself.  Hence  the 
Gospel  insisted  on  the  equality  of  all  men  before 
God.  At  the  same  time,  self-sacrifice  was  made 
the  supreme  duty  and  was  declared  to  be  the  source 
of  the  highest  blessedness  to  him  w^ho  practises  it. 
These  principles  were  the  foundation  of  liberty  and 
the  fountain  of  beneficence.  Not  only  was  the  ideal 
of  virtue  set  forth;  new,  inspiring  motives  to  the 
practice  of  it  were  presented  in  the  mission  and  ex- 
ample of  Jesus.  The  result  of  the  influence  of  Chris- 
tianity was  the  purification  of  domestic  life.  The 
rigor  of  paternal  authority  was  softened.  The  wife 
and  mother  was  elevated  to  her  true  place.  Chris- 
tianity has  raised  woman  from  degradation.  It  has 
improved,  in  a  corresponding  measure,  the  lot  of 
children.  It  has  immeasurably  improved  the  con- 
dition of  the  laboring  classes,  by  insisting  that  they 
shall  have  their  just  dues.  The  poor  and  unfortu- 
nate became  objects  of  compassion  and  recipients  of 
practical  aid  in  multiform  ways.     Christianity  pro- 


116  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES. 

moted  civil  liberty.  It  inculcated  loyalty,  but  pnt 
an  end  to  the  nnqnalified  domination  of  the  State. 
While  the  magistrate  was  to  be  obeyed  as  the  minis- 
ter of  God,  he  was  to  be  disobeyed  if  he  enjoined 
anything  against  the  divine  law.  The  process  began 
of  conforming  civil  law  to  the  requirements  of  jus- 
tice. "  Stranger "  was  no  longer  the  synonym  of 
"enemy."  International  law  lias  taken  on  a  new 
character  under  the  influence  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion, in  which  are  recognized  the  rights  of  nations, 
even  the  weakest.  The  spirit  of  charity,  no  longer 
confined  by  the  bounds  of  nation  and  kindred,  em- 
braces all  mankind.  Such  were  the  inherent  ten- 
dencies, and  such  has  been  the  actual  power  of 
Christianity,  that  its  effect  on  the  individual  was 
properly  styled  "a  new  creation."^  One  looking  at 
the  influence  of  Christianity  in  the  first  centuries 
after  it  appeared,  and  in  the  ages  following  to  the 
present  time,  sees  the  result  of  that  revolution  in 
personal  character,  of  which  the  Apostle  said :  "The 
old  things  are  passed  away;  behold,  they  are  be- 
come new." 

The  transforming  effect  of  Christianity  is  the 
miracle  of  history.  A  religion  adequate  to  the  pro- 
duction of  such  beneficent  results  must  have  God 
for  its  author. 

*  2  Cor.  V.  17  (Revised  Version). 


CHAPTEK  XVm. 

CORROBORATIVE     PROOF    OF     CHRISTIANITY    FROM     ITS     RAPID 
SPREAD   IN   THE   FIRST   CENTURIES. 

The  rapid  progress  of  a  religion  may  be  owing 
to  the  indulgence  granted  by  it  to  immoral  prac- 
tices, or  to  the  use  of  force  in  the  dissemination  of 
it.  In  this  way  the  victories  of  Islam  are  partly  to 
be  accounted  for.  Or  the  spread  of  a  religion  may 
be  caused  by  the  hope  inspii-ed  of  a  deliverance  from 
grievous  burdens  imposed  by  a  religious  system  pre- 
viously dominant,  even  although  the  new  faith  is 
not,  on  the  whole,  of  an  ennobling  character.  This 
explains  the  progress  of  Buddhism  in  India  ;  while 
the  ready  junction  or  identification  of  Buddhism 
with  the  existing  religions  of  China  and  Japan  gave 
it  a  free  course  in  those  countries.    " 

To  neither  of  these  causes  was  the  surprising  con- 
quest of  the  Koman  Empire  by  the  Christian  faith 
Self  denial  duc.  It  was  at  variaucc  with  the  selfish, 
required.  national  aiubitiou  of  the  Jews,  with  their 
tenacious  clinging  to  their  ritual,  and  with  their 
bigoted  assumption  of  superiority  over  every  other 
people.     The  Gospel  demanded  of  the  heathen  the 


118  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES. 

renunciation  of  all  their  objects  of  worship,  of  all  the 
employments  and  amusements  that  involved  partici- 
pation in  the  ancestral  and  legal  forms  of  devotion. 
More  than  this,  it  required  inexorably  the  forsaking 
of  every  species  of  immorality,  and  the  subjugation 
of  every  desire  for  forbidden  pleasures.  It  was  sup- 
ported by  no  influential  class — not  by  the  rich,  or 
learned,  or  those  holding  high  social  or  oflicial  sta- 
tions. By  these  generally,  it  was  regarded  with  dis- 
dain. Christians  were  objects  of  popular  contempt. 
Soon  severe  laws  were  enforced  against  them,  and 
tliey  became  victims  both  of  legal  and  of  mob  vio- 
lence. To  become  a  Christian  was  to  expose  one's 
self  to  the  "  loss  of  all  things."  Yet  notwithstand- 
ing all  these  requirements  and  all  these  exposures, 
Christianity  continued  to  make  converts  rapidly, 
until  it  became  clear  that  Roman  imperial  authority 
was  not  strong  enough  to  extirpate  the  new  faith 
or  to  stay  its  advance.  At  length,  in  the  space  of 
a  few  centuries,  the  altars  of  heathenism  were  de- 
serted, and  the  last  vestiges  of  heathen  worship 
passed  away. 

The  proximate  causes  of  this  rapid  progress.  Gib- 
bon makes  to  be  five :  The  zeal  of  the  early  Chris- 
Gibbonon  tiaus,  whicli  lio  represents  to  have  been 
of  cKSn-  derived  from  the  Jews,  but  to  have  beei\ 
ity.  purged  of  Jewish  narrowness ;  the  doc- 

trine of  a  future  life  of  rewards  and  punishments ; 
the  power  of  w^orking  miracles,  ascribed   to  the 


THE  RAPID  SPREAD   OF  CJIRISTIANITY.       119 

primitive  Church ;  the  pure  and  austere  morals  of 
the  Christians,  and  the  union  and  discipline  of  the 
Christian  ]-epublic — the  ecclesiastical  community. 
But  these  causes  are  distinct  from  one  another. 
How,  it  has  been  pertinently  asked,  did  they  come 
to  be  combined  in  the  same  persons  ?  How  shall 
we  account  for  this  coincidence  ?  How,  for  exam- 
ple, did  zeal  come  to  be  cleared  of  narrowness  ?  and 
how  happened  this  ardor,  mixed  with  liberality,  to 
be  associated  with  the  Christian  doctrine  respecting 
the  future  life  ?  Then  it  is  obvious  that  these  causes 
are,  one  and  all,  the  effect  of  Christianity — ingredi- 
ents of  the  Gospel  or  its  natural  consequences.  The 
solution,  therefore,  amounts  to  this,  that  the  cause 
of  the  rapid  diffusion  of  Christianity  was  Christian- 
ity itself,  or  qualities  inhering  in  it. 

This  is  in  effect  the  solution  of  a  more  recent 
writer  who  has  undertaken  to  make  clear  the  causes 
of  the  conversion  of  Rome.*  It  was  not  the  alleged 
miracles  ;  it  was  not,  in  any  considerable  degree,  the 
reasoning  from  prophecy,  which  achieved  the  great 
conquest.^  It  was  "the  elements  of  power  and  at- 
traction" which  the  new  religion  combined.  These 
w^ere  its  freedom  from  "  local  ties ; "  its  strong  ap- 
peal to  the  affections ;  its  "  pure  and  noble  system 
of  ethics ; "  its  doctrine  of  the  brotherhood  of  man, 
and  of  "  the  supreme  sanctity  of  love."     To  the 

*  Lecky :  History  of  European  Morals  from  Augustus  to  Charle* 
magne,  vol  i.,  p.  409  seq.  a  P.  409. 


120  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES. 

philosopher  it  was  at  once  ^^  the  echo  of  tlie  highest 
ethics  of  the  later  Stoics,  and  the  expansion  of  the 
best  teaching  of  the  school  of  Plato."  To  a  world 
weary  of  lower  ideals,  Christianity  presented  "an 
ideal  of  compassion  and  love — an  ideal  destined  for 
centuries  to  draw  around  it  all  that  was  greatest,  as 
well  as  all  that  was  noblest  upon  earth — a  Teacher 
who  conld  weep  by  the  sepulchre  of  his  friend,  who 
was  touched  with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities."* 
"The  chief  cause  of  its  success  w^as  the  congruity 
of  its  teaching  with  the  spiritual  nature  of  man- 
kind." "  It  planted  its  roots  so  deeply  in  the  hearts 
of  men,"  "  because  it  corresponded  with  their  relig- 
ious w^ants,  aims,  and  emotions,  because  the  w^hole 
spiritual  being  could  then  expand  and  expatiate 
under  its  influence."  The  author  who  has  thus 
traced  the  early  triumph  of  Christianity  mainly  to 
its  own  inherent,  exalted  characteristics,  leaves  un- 
solved the  problem  of  the  origin  of  a  system  whose 
power  sprang  from  its  transcendent  worth.  Those 
who  believe,  with  a  living  faith,  in  a  personal  God 
will  not  find  it  unreasonable  to  accept  the  explana- 
tion which  the  IS^ew  Testament  presents,  and  refer 
this  world-transforming  Gospel  to  divine  revela- 
tion. 

>  P.  412. 


IN^DEX. 


Acts,  genuineness  of  the,  62 

Alogi,  64 

Apostles,  the,  not  victims  of  hal- 
lucination, 44 ;  their  trust- 
worthiness, 70  seq.  ;  their  can- 
dor, 71  seq.  ;  their  sobriety,  79 ; 
tested  by  sufferings,  79 ;  their 
alleged  errors  in  doctrine,  86 
seq.  ;  their  views  on  the  Second 
Advent,  85 ;  their  interpreta- 
tions and  reasonings,  90 

Barnabas,   the    Epistle    of,    its 

quotations  from  Matthew,  55 
Baur,  F.  C,  85 
Buddhism,  109 
Burnet,  Bishop,  90 
Byron,  24 

Celsus,  69 

Christ,  his  character,  32,  81  ;  his 
perfection,  35;  not  self -de- 
ceived, 36  ;  his  sanction  of  the 
Old  Testament  religion,  92; 
limits  of  his  teaching,  92.  See 
"Resurrection  " 

Christianity,  the  needs  met  by  it, 
25  seq. ;  admitted  facts  of,  28  ; 


its  rapid  spread,  29 ;  its  influ- 
ence, 30;  its  divine  origin 
shown  by  the  character  of 
Christ,  32 ;  its  leading  features, 
103  seq.  ;  a  religion  of  princi- 
ples, 105 ;  a  religion  for  the 
world,  106 ;  contrasted  with 
other  systems,  107  seq.  ;  proof 
from  its  utility,  114  seq. ;  proof 
from  its  rapid  spread,  117  seq. 
Church,  the  Christian,  its  rise,  30 

Demoniacs,  86 

Epicureanism,  111 

Evidence,  historical,  its  nat'ire, 
4 ;  probable  and  demonstrative, 
5 ;  cumulative,  5 ;  internal  and 
external,  6  ;  the  affections,  a 
source  of,  7 

Genuineness  of  a  book,  it^ 
meaning,  3 

Gibbon,  on  the  spread  of  Chris- 
tianity, 118 

God,  his  benevolence,  24 

Gospels,  their  genuineness,  47 
seq.  ;    Irenaeus  respecting  the, 


122 


INDEX. 


48  seq.  ;  Justin  Martyr's  use  of 
them,  50  seq.  ;  Tatian's  use  of 
them,  53 ;  references  to  them  in 
Polycarp,  54 ;  in  "  The  Teach- 
ing," etc.,  55 ;  the  witness  of 
the  ancient  versions  to  the,  56  ; 
internal  evidence  for  the,  60 
seq.  ;  local  references  in  the, 
61 ;  mystical  theory  respecting 
the,  73 ;  alleged  discrepancies  in 
the,  74  ;  their  testimony  to  the 
resurrection  of  Christ,  83  seq. 
See  the  Gospels  severally 

Horace,  24 

Hume,  his  argument  against  mir- 
acles, 15  seq. 
Huxley,  on  Hume's  argument,  17 

Inspiration,  what  is  it  ?  2 
Irenaeus,  his  witness  to  the  Gos- 
pels,   48  seq. ;    his  relation  to 
Polycarp,  49,  65 

Jews,  their  religion,  28 

John  the  Baptist,  28 ;  performed 
no  miracles,  40 

John,  the  Gospel  of,  used  by  Jus- 
tin, 53  ;  its  relation  to  the  first 
three  Gospels,  63 ;  local  refer- 
ences in,  65 ;  the  author's  way 
of  disclosing  himself,  66 ;  at- 
testation at  the  end  of,  67  ;  not 
written  oy  disciples  of  John, 
68;  a  kind  of  autobiography, 
68.     See ''Gospels " 

Josephus,  28 

Justin  Martyr,  his  witness  to  the 
Gospels,  50  seq. ;  to  John's  Gos- 
pel, 53 


Lecky,  on  the  early  progress  o\ 

Christianity,  119 
Luke,  an  attendant  of  Paul,  61 
Luke,   the  writings  of,   61.     See 

''  Gospels  "  and  "  Acts  " 

Mark,  the  Gospel  of,  Papias  on, 
57.     See ''Gospels" 

Matthew,  the  Gospel  of,  quoted 
in  Barnabas,  55 ;  Papias  on  57. 
See  ' '  Gospels  " 

Mill,  J.  S. ,  his  comment  on  Hume's 
argument,  16 

Miracles,  definition  of,  9;  tern:s 
for,  in  the  New  Testament,  10; 
not  without  a  cause,  11 ;  Hume's 
argument  against,  15;  prove 
design,  18 ;  can  evil  spirits  per- 
form them  ?  18  ;  their  relation, 
as  proofs,  to  doctrine,  18;  the 
sinlessness  of  Jesus,  one  of 
them,  35;  presupposed  in  the 
teaching  of  Christ,  37  seq. ;  hea- 
then and  ecclesiastical,  76  seq.; 
wrought  by  Paul,  101 

Mohammedanism,  108 

Mythical  theory,  73 

Old  Testament  system,  its  re- 
lation to  Christianity,  91 ;  its 
prophetic  character,  95  seq. 

Paley,  75,  90 ;  on  the  need  of 
Revelation,  22 

Papias,  his  account  of  Mark  and 
Matthew,  57 

Paul,  his  witness  to  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Jesus,  41  seq.;  his  con- 
version, miraculous,  42  seq.,  99 
seq. ;  wrought  miracles,  101 

Plato,  110 


INDEX. 


123 


Polycarp,  his  relation  to  Irenasus, 
49,  65 ;  quotes  from  Matthew 
and  John,  54 

Presumption,  logical,  its  meaning, 
21 

Prophecy,  proof  from,  95  seq. 


Renan,  37,  65 

Resurrection  of  Jesus,  testimony 

of  Paul  respecting  it,  41   seq.; 

proved  from    the  Evangelists, 

82  seq. 
Revelation,  antecedent  probability 

of,  22  ;  the  need  of,  23  seq.;  the 

need  of,  met  by  Christianity,  25  1  Zoroastek,  107 


Socrates,  110 
Stoicism,  111 
Strauss,  D.  F.,  37,  73 

Tat  IAN,  his  "Diatessaron,"  53 
"Teaching  of  the  XII  Apostles,'^ 
as  a  witness  to  the  Gospels,  55 


Uniformity  of  nature,  13 

Versions,  the  ancient,  their  wit" 
ness  to  the  Gospels,  56 


CHRISTIAN    EVIDENCES    AND 
HOMILETICS. 


MANUAL  OF  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES.  By  Prof.  GEORGE 
PARK  FISHER,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical 
History  in  Yale  College.    16mo,  75  cents. 

The  aim  of  the  book  is  to  present  the  Evidences  of  Christianity  in 
a  concise,  lucid  form,  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  have  not  the  leisure 
to  study  extended  treatises  on  the  subject.  It  is  intended  both  for 
private  reading  and  for  the  use  of  classes  in  public  institutions.  Al- 
though brief,  it  includes  a  distinct  statement  of  both  the  internal  and 
external  proofs.  The  arguments  are  shaped  to  meet  objections  and 
difficulties  which  are  felt  at  the  present  time,  and  the  historic  evidence 
is  carefully  confined  to  the  present  state  of  scholarship  and  learning. 

THE  EXAMINER.— "It  is  worth  Its  weight  in  gold.  It  Is  by  all  odds  tlie  best 
treatise  on  the  Evidences  of  Ciiristlanity  for  general  use  that  we  know.  It  is 
sound,  judicious,  clear,  and  scholarly." 

THE  N,  Y.  SUN.— "Compact,  thorough,  and  learned.  Its  simplicity  of  style 
and  brevity  ought  to  commend  it  to  a  wide  circle  of  readers." 

THE  GROUNDS  OF  THEISTIC  AND  CHRISTIAN  BELIEF.  By 
Prof.  GEORGE  P.  FISHER,  D.D.,  LL.D.    Crown  8vo,  $2.50. 

FROM  THE  PREFACE.—"  This  volume  embraces  a  discussion  of  the  evidences 
of  both  natural  and  revealed  religion.  Prominence  is  given  to  topics  having 
special  interest  at  present  from  their  connection  with  modern  theories  and  diffi- 
culties. The  argument  of  design,  and  the  bearing  of  evolutionary  doctrines  on 
Its  vaUdity,  are  fully  considered." 

JULIUS  H.  SEELYE,  President  of  Amherst  College.—"!  3nd  it  as  I  should 
expect  it  to  be,  wise  and  candid,  and  convincing  to  an  honest  mind." 

paoF.  JAMES  O.  MURRAY,  of  Princeton  CoZZege.—"  It  is  eminently  fitted  to 
meet  the  honest  doubts  of  some  of  our  best  young  men.  Its  fairness  and  candor, ' 
its  learning  and  ability  in  argument,  its  thorough  handling  of  modern  objections 
—all  these  qualities  fit  it  for  such  a  service,  and  a  great  service  it  is." 

ESSAYS  ON  THE  SUPERNATURAL  ORIGIN  OF  CHRISTIAN- 
ITY. By  Prof.  GEORGE  P.  FISHER,  D.D.,  LL.D.  8vo, 
new  and  enlarged  edition,  $2.50. 

THE  NEW  YORK  TRIBUNE.— "His  volume  evinces  rare  versatiUty  of  inteUect, 
with  a  scholarship  no  less  sound  and  judicious  in  its  tone  and  extensive  in  its 
attainments  than  it  is  modest  in  its  pretensions." 

THE  BRITISH  QUARTERLY  REVIEW.— "We  know  not  where  the  Student  wiU 
find  a  more  satisfactory  guide  in  relation  to  the  great  questions  which  have  grown 
up  between  the  friends  of  the  Christian  revelation  and  the  most  able  of  its  assail' 
ants,  within  tbe  memory  of  the  present  generation." 


SCRIBNL'RS  TEXT-BOOK  CATALOGUE. 

THE  PHILOSOPHIC  BASIS  OF  THEISM.  An  Examination  of  the 
Personality  of  Man,  to  Ascertain  his  Capacity  to  Know  and 
Serve  God,  and  the  Validity  of  the  Principle  Underlying  tho 
Defence  of  Theism.  By  SAMUEL  HARRIS,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Pro« 
fessor  of  Systematic  Theology  in  Yale  College.    8vo,  $3.50. 

Br.  Harris  embodies  in  his  work  the  results  of  his  long  meditation 
on  the  highest  themes,  and  his  long  discussion  and  presentation  of 
these  tn:hfchs  in  the  class-room.  His  fundamental  positions  are  thor- 
^oughly  in  harmony  with  soundest  modem  thought  and  most  trust- 
worthy modem  knowledge. 

THE  INDEPENDENT.— "It  is  rare  that  a  worK,  which  is  of  necessity,  so 
severely  metaphysical  in  both  topics  and  treatment,  ia  so  enlivened  by  the 
varied  contributions  of  a  widely  cultivated  mind  from  a  liberal  course  of 
reading.  His  passionate  and  candid  argument  cannot  fail  to  command  the 
respect  of  any  antagonist  of  the  Atheistic  or  Agnostic  schools,  who  will  take 
the  pains  to  read  his  criticisms  or  to  review  his  argument.  In  respect  to  coolness 
and  dignity  and  self-possession,  his  work  Is  an  excellent  model  for  scientists, 
metaphysicians,  and  theologians  of  every  complexion." 

THE  HARTFORD  COUR  A  NT.— "Professor  Harris*  horizon-lines  are  uncon- 
tracted.  His  survey  of  the  entire  realm  he  traverses  is  accurate,  patient,  and 
considerate.  No  objections  are  evaded.  No  conclusions  are  reached  by  saltatory 
movements.  The  utmost  fairness  and  candor  characterize  his  discussions.  No 
more  thoroughly  scientific  work  in  plan  or  method  or  spirit  has  been  done  In  our 
time.  On  almost  every  page  one  meets  with  evidences  of  a  wide  and  reflec- 
tive reading,  not  only  of  philosophy,  but  of  poetry  and  fiction  as  well,  whicU 
enriches  and  illumines  the  whole  course  of  thought." 

THE  SELF-REVELATION  OF  GOD.  By  SAMUEL  HARRIS, 
D.D.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Systematic  Theology  in  Yale  Col- 
lege.   8vo,  $3.50. 

In  this  volume  Dr.  Harris  presents  a  statement  of  the  evidence  of 
the  existence  of  God,  and  of  the  reality  of  His  revelation  of  Himself 
in  the  experience  or  consciousness  of  men,  and  the  verification  of  the 
same  by  His  further  revelation  of  Himself  in  the  constitution  and 
ongoing  of  the  universe,  and  in  Christ. 

PROF.  WM.  G.  T.  SHEDD,  D.D.,  In  Tfw  Presbyterian  Review.— "Such  a 
work  is  not  brought  out  in  a  day,  but  is  the  growth  of  years  of  professional  study 
and  reflection.  Few  books  on  apologetics  have  been  recently  produced  that  will 
be  more  influential  and  formative  upon  the  mind  of  the  theological  or  philosophi- 
cal student,  or  more  useful.  It  Is  calculated  to  Influence  opinions,  and  to  Influence 
them  truthfully,  seriously,  and  strongly." 

BISHOP  HURST,  in  77ie  Northwestern  Christian  Aavocate.—"  We  ao  not  Tniow 
a  better  work  among  recent  publications  than  this  one  for  building  up  old  hopes 
and  giving  a  new  strength  to  one's  faith.  The  book  Is  thoroughly  evangelic, 
fresh,  and  well  wrought  out.  It  Is  a  valuable  contribution  to  our  American 
theology." 


CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES  AND  HOMILETICS. 

THE  THEORY  OF  PREACHING;  or,  Lectures  on  Homlletics. 
By  Professor  AUSTIN  PHELPS.    8vo,  $2.50. 

This  work  is  the  growth  of  more  than  thirty  years'  practical  ex- 
perience in  teaching.  The  writings  of  a  master  of  style,  of  broad  and 
catholic  mind  are  always  fascinating  ;  in  the  present  case  the  wealth 
of  appropriate  and  pointed  illustration  renders  this  doubly  the  case. 

THE  NEW  YORK  CHRISTIAN  ADVOCATE.— "  Ministers  of  all  denominations 
and  of  all  degrees  of  experience  will  rejoice  In  it  as  a  veritable  mine  of  wisdom." 

THE  INDEPENDENT.— "The  volume  Is  to  be  commended  to  young  men  as  a 
superb  example  of  the  art  In  wWcli  It  aims  to  instruct  tirem." 

THE  WATCHMAN.— "The  reading  of  it  is  a  mental  tonic.  The  preacher 
cannot  but  feel  often  his  heart  burning  within  him  under  its  influence.  We  /jould 
wish  It  might  be  in  the  hands  of  every  theological  student  and  of  every  pastor." 

MEN  AND  BOOKS;  OR,  STUDIES  IN  HOMILETICS.  Lectures 
Introductory  to  the  "Theory  of  Preaching."  By  Professor 
AUSTIN  PHELPS,  D.D.    Crown  8vo,  $2.00. 

Professor  Phelps'  second  volume  of  lectures  is  devoted  to  a  dis- 
cussion of  the  sources  of  culture  and  power  in  the  profession  of  the 
pulpit,  its  power  to  absorb  and  appropriate  to  its  own  uses  the  world 
of  real  life  in  the  present,  and  the  world  of  the  past,  as  it  lives  in 
books. 

PROFESSOR  GEORGEr  P.  FISHER.— "It  is  a  live  hools.,  animated  as  well  as 
sound  and  instructive,  in  which  conventionalities  are  brushed  aside,  and  the 
author  goes  straight  to  the  marrow  of  the  subject.  No  minister  can  read  It 
without  being  waked  up  to  a  higher  conception  of  the  possibilities  of  his  calling." 

BOSTON  WATCHMAN.—"  We  are  sure  that  no  minister  or  candidate  for  the 
ministry  can  read  it  without  profit.  It  is  a  tonic  for  one's  mind  to  read  a  book  so 
laden  with  thought  and  suggestion,  and  written  in  a  style  so  fresh,  strong,  and 
bracing." 

A  TREATISE  ON  HOMILETICS  AND  PASTORAL  THEOLOGY. 
By  W.  G.  T.  SHEDD,  D.D.    Crown  8vo,  $2.50. 

In  chis  work,  treating  of  the  main  points  of  Homiletics  and  Pastoral 
Theology,  the  author  handles  his  subject  in  a  masterly  manner,  and 
displays  much  original  and  highly  suggestive  thought.  The  Homileti- 
cal  part  is  especially  valuable  to  ministers  aud  those  in  training  for  the 
ministry.  Dr.  Shedd'a  style  is  a  model  of  purity,  simplicity  and 
strength. 

THE  NEW  YORK  EVANGELIST.—"  We  cannot  but  regard  It  as,  on  the  whole, 
the  very  best  production  of  the  kind  with  which  we  are  acquainted.  The  topics 
discussed  are  of  the  first  importance  to  every  minister  of  Christ  engaged  in  active 
service,  and  their  discussion  is  conducted  by  earnestness  as  well  as  ability,  and  in 
a  style  which  for  clear,  vigorous,  and  unexceptionable  English,  Is  itself  a  model." 

THE  CHRISTIAN  INTELLIGENCER.— "The  ablest  booK  on  the  subject  which 
the  generation  has  produced," 


SGRIBNER'S   TEXT-BOOK   CATALOGUE, 


A  MANUAL  OF  NATURAL  THEOLOGY.  By  GEORGE  P. 
FISHER,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History  in 
Yale  University.    16mOj  75  cents. 

This  book  carries  out  an  original  purpose  of  Professor  Fisher  to 
prepare  a  manual  of  Natural  Theology,  should  that  on  Christian 
Evidences  prove  acceptable  and  useful.  It  is  excellently  adapted  to 
class-room  use  by  reason  of  its  concise  statements  and  the  natural 
arrangement  of  the  arguments.  Brief  definitions,  with  a  statement 
of  erroneous  theories  and  of  the  place  of  argument  on  the  subject, 
comprise  the  introductory  chapter  on  the  Nature  and  Origin  of  Re- 
ligion. The  succeeding  chapters  take  up  The  Cosmological  Argument 
of  the  Being  of  God,  The  Argument  of  Design,  The  Moral  Argument, 
The  Intuition  of  the  Infinite  and  Absolute,  Anti-Theistic  Theories, 
The  Future  Life  of  the  Soul ;  and  there  is  a  note  upon  the  Ontological 
Argument.  The  division  into  chapters,  with  minor  subjects  indicated 
by  side-headings,  makes  the  volume  very  convenient  for  class-room  use. 

BISHOP  VINCENT.— "It  Is  literally  multum  in  parvo.  It  is  a  good  pocket- 
bool^  for  the  old  student  and  a  good  text-book  for  the  young." 

THE  EXAMINER.— "It  would  be  difficult  to  find  in  anything  like  the  same 
space  so  complete  an  outline  of  the  subject.  As  a  text-book  in  schools  and  col- 
leges it  has  merits  so  obvious  and  surpassing  that  it  will  surely  displace  other 
manuals  of  the  kind." 

THE  CONGREGATIONALIST.— "  He  has  discussed  the  subject  with  tbat  pro- 
found learning,  analytical  skill,  and  literary  grace  of  which  he  is  an  acknowl- 
edged master ;  and  the  high  value  of  his  work  will  be  conceded  immediately  and 
permanently." 

ADVANCE.—"  Clear  and  solid  and  convincing." 

PRESIDENT  CHARLES  F.  TH WING.— "This  exposition  is  so  clear,  suc- 
cinct, and  forcible  that  it  should  help  to  restore  natural  theology  in  its  proper 
place  in  our  plan  of  education." 

THEISM.  Being  the  Baird  Lecture  for  1876.  Py  ROBERT 
FLINT,  Corresponding  Member  of  the  Institute  of  France, 
Honorary  Member  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Palermo,  Pro* 
fessor  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  etc.  Seventh  edition, 
revised.    12mo,  $1.50  net. 


MENTAL  AND  MORAL  SCIENCE. 


ELEMENTS  OF  LOGIC,  THEORETICAL  AND  PRACTICAL.  By 

Professor  JAMES  H.  HYSLOP,  Ph.D.,  of  Columbia  College. 

With   diagrams,  examples,  and    index.    450    pages.    Crown 

8vo,  $2.00. 

With  the  same  end  in  view  as  Jevons  and  others,  ' '  to  direct  the 
student  in  practical  reasoning*  and  correct  thinking  in  professional 
vocations,"  Professor  Hyslop  has  made  deviations,  additions,  and  im- 
provements, intended  to  serve  that  end  more  completdy.  The  full 
treatment  of  all  subjects  is  designed  to  afford  students  a  better  guide 
than  Jevons  can  possibly  be.  The  stress  laid  upon  the  Nature  of  Con- 
ceptions, Propositions,  and  that  troublesome  subject,  the  Classification 
of  Fallacies,  renders  work  easier  in  important  departments  of  logic. 
New  distinctions,  with  appropriate  terminology,  are  presented  be- 
tween *' General  Terms.*'  The  ordinary  treatment  of  Induction  has 
been  modified  by  distinctions  between  '  •  Inference,  '  '^  Inductive  Meth- 
od," and  "  Scientific  Method." 

Irrelevant  matter  and  peculiar  theoretical  discussions  give  place  to 
questions  actually  met  in  study  and  in  the  class-room.  Diagrams 
are  given  and  abundant  examples.  The  arrangement  and  typography 
are  such  that  the  work  can  be  used  by  beginners  and  advanced 
students. 

H.  K.  GARDINER,  SmitJi  College,  Northampton,  il/ass.— "Dr.  Hyslop's 'Ele- 
ments of  Logic'  contains  all  that  is  of  value  In  Jevons'  smaller  work  and  much 
more  besides.  The  discussions  are  careful,  full,  and  clear.  The  new  matter  is 
always  worth  considering  and  In  some  cases  very  considerably  aids  to  definite- 
ness  of  treatment.  The  classification  of  fallacies  ia  particularly  good.  The 
abundance  of  illustrations  and  the  large  number  of  questions  and  problems 
greatly  enhance  the  value  of  the  work  for  use  in  the  class-room." 

ENOCH  J=>ERRINE,  Bucknell  University,  Lewislturgh,  Pa.— "  I  have  received 
Dr.  J.  H.  Hyslop's  '  Logic'  which  you  have  recently  published,  have  carefully 
examined  it  to  see  if  it  is  a  practical  text-book,  and  am  fully  persuaded  that 
is  is  the  best  book  on  the  subject  now  before  American  teachers.  While  as  a 
whole,  it  is  admirably  adapted  for  higher  classes,  judicious  omissions  will  suit  it 
to  those  not  so  far  advanced.  I  shall  use  the  book  in  our  next  winter  term,  and 
at  that  time  you  will  receive  an  order." 

LOGIC.  The  Laws  of  Discursive  Thought.  Being  a  Text-Book 
of  Formal  Logic.  By  JAMES  McCOSH,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Ex- 
Presldent  of  the  Princeton  College.    12mo,  $1.50. 

Dr.  McCosh  thinks  that  more  error  arises  from  confusion  in  the 
Notion  than  from  Judgment  or  Reasoning.  So  he  treats  fully  of  the 
Notion,  with  the  Form  and  Relation  of  Thought  to  Language,  and 
thinks  that  we  have  thus  the  means  of  settling  the  question  at  present 
discussed  in  regard  to  the  Analytic  of  Thought. 


SGRTBNER'S  TEXTBOOK  CATALOGUE. 

PSYCHOLOGY:  Descriptive  and  Explanatory.  A  Treatise  of  the 
Phenomena,  Laws,  and  Development  of  Human  Mental 
Life.  By  GEORGE  TRUMBULL  LADD,  Professor  of  Phil- 
osophy in  Yale  University.     8vo,  $4.50. 

This  latest  work  of  Professor  Ladd  is  designed  to  cover  the  entire 
ground  of  descriptive  and  explanatory  psychology  in  a  summary  way, 
reserving  speculative  discussion  and  the  philosophy  of  mind  for 
another  volume.  It  is  carefully  adapted  to  the  needs  of  pupils  and 
teachers,  while  not  exclusively  prepared  for  them. 

PROF.  B.  P.  BOWNE,  Boston  Universtty.—''!  know  of  no  other  work  that 
gives  so  good  a  critical  survey  of  the  whole  field  as  this." 

PROF.  G.  H.  PALMER,  Harvara  University.— '' Anj  writing  of  his  is  a 
matter  to  be  grateful  for.    This  book  will  largely  increase  our  debt." 

PROF.  J.  H.  HYSLOP,  Columbia  College,— ''I  shall  take  pleasure  in  recom- 
mending Professor  Ladd's  new  book  on  psychology  to  my  classes  as  a  most 
thorough  and  exhaustive  treatment  of  the  subject." 

PROF.  H.  N.  GARDNER,  Smith  College.— It  is  a  distinct  honor  to  American 
scholarship  to  have  produced  it."  • 

PROF.  J.  W.  STEARNS,  University  of  Wisconsin.— "  It  is  rich  in  material, 
admirably  clear  and  well  arranged,  and  a  thorouglily  satisfactory  introductory 
book  for  the  student  in  this  rapidly  developing  field  of  study.  I  shall  at  once 
recommend  its  use  by  my  classes." 

LOGIC,  INDUCTIVE  AND  DEDUCTIVE.    By  WILLIAM  MINTO, 
M.A.,  Hon.  LL.D.,  St.  Andrews,  Late  Professor  of  Logic  In 
the  University  of  Aberdeen.    With   diagrams.    385   pagesi 
12mo,  $1.25  net, 
FROM  THE  PREFACE.—"  In  this  little  treatise  two  things  are  attempted  that 
at  first  might  appear  incompatible.    One  of  them  is  to  put  the  study  of  logical 
formulae  on  a  historical  basis.    The  other,  which  might  at  first  appear  inconsist- 
ent with  this,  is  to  increase  the  power  of  Logic  as  a  practical  discipline.    The 
main  purpose  of  this  practical  science,  or  scientific  art,  is  conceived  to  be  the 
organization  of  reason  against  error,  and  error  in  its  various  kinds*  is  made  the 
basis  of  the  division  of  the  subject.    To  carry  out  this  practical  aim  along  with 
the  historical  one  is  not  hopeless,  because  throughout  its  long  history  Logic  has 
been  a  practical  science  ;  and,  as  I  have  tried  to  show  at  some  length  in  intro- 
ductory chapters,  has  concerned  itself  at  different  periods  with  the  risks  of  error 
peculiar  to  each." 

PROF.  G.  H.  PALMER,  Of  Harvard.— "  It  is  a  charming  book,  inapt  as  the 
adjective  would  ordinarily  seem  for  describing  a  logical  treatise.  Rarely  does 
one  find  within  so  short  a  compass  such  ample  learning,  lucid  arrangement, 
captivating  style,  subservience  to  readers'  needs.  Every  page  is  stamped  with  the 
individuality  of  the  writer  and  with  the  reality  of  the  subject  with  which  he  deals.'' 

PROF.  G.  M.  DUNCAN,  of  Yale.— "When  one  reads  for  recreation  in  the  Inter- 
vals between  college  examinations  in  the  hot  days  of  June  a  work  on  logic,  the 
work  must  possess  merits  of  a  high  o/der.  I  have  been  thus  reading  Professor 
junto's  book.  It  is  the  best  manual  that  has  appeared  since  Jevons  published 
Lis  Lessons.    I  shall  recommend  it  io  my  students  in  the  autumn." 


MENTAL  AND  MORAL  SCIENCE. 


EVENING  POST.— "This  little  treatise  is  interesting  as  containing  the  ma- 
tured views  of  one  of  the  most  vigorous  thinkers  of  the  times  on  the  form  of 
reasoning.  It  is  written  with  singular  directness  and  vigor.  The  use  of  the  work 
as  a  text-book  in  schools  and  colleges  will  afford  admirable  training  to  students. 
It  is  doubtful  whether  there  is  anywhere  a  class-book  in  this  science  likely  to  be 
more  generally  acceptable." 

PROF.  G.  H.  HOWISON,  University  of  California.—"!  have  examined 
Minto's  'Logic '  carefully  and  am  so  well  satisfied  of  its  superior  excellence  that 
I  have  decided  to  use  it  with  my  classes  next  year." 

CHRISTIAN  ETHICS.  By  NEWMAN  SMYTH,  D.D.     New  Haven. 
Crown  8vo,  $2.50  net. 

The  science  of  living  according  to  Christianity.  Its  subject-mat- 
ter broad  as  human  life  ;  its  object,  to  bring  all  the  materials  of  life 
under  the  supreme  formative  principle,  "According  to  Christ." 

This  work  differs  from  scientific  ethics  by  searching  for  its  prem- 
ises and  finding  its  laws  in  the  observed  facts  of  the  Christian  moral 
consciousness  and  its  historical  development.  To  understand  in  its 
principles,  relations,  and  activities,  the  Christian  moral  consciousness 
of  life  is  the  purpose  of  this  inquiry.  Christian  Ethics  thus  become 
a  science  not  only  of  the  Biblical  morality,  but  also  of  the  whole 
moral  development  and  aim  of  humanity  according  to  Christ  ;  of  the 
moral  contents,  progress,  and  ends  of  human  life  under  the  formative 
Christian  Ideal. 

A  comprehefisive  survey,  from  the  moral  point  of  view,  of  the 
founding,  upbuilding,  and  promised  completion  of  the  kingdom  of 
God  on  earth. 

After  an  introduction  on  the  nature  of  Christian  Ethics,  with  its 
relation  to  other  subjects,  the  work  falls  under  two  grand  divisions, 
as  follows  :  Part  I  The  Chkistian  Ideal.  Revelation  of-  Contents 
of — Realization  of — Forms  to  be  Realized — Methods  of  the  Realization 
— Spheres  in  which  it  is  to  be  Realized.  Part  II.  Christian  Duties. 
Conscience — Duties  toward  Self — Toward  Others — The  Social  Prob- 
lem— Duties  toward  God— Tlie  Christian  Moral  Motive  Power. 

ELEMENTS      OF      PHYSIOLOGICAL      PSYCHOLOGY.      By 
GEORGE  T.   LADD,   D.D.,  Professor  of  Mental  and  Moral 
Philosophy  in  Yale  University.    With  nunnerous  illustrations 
8yo,   $4.50. 
PROF.  WILLIAM   JAMES,  in   TTw  Nation.— "ma  erudition  and  his  broad- 
mindedness  are  on  a  par  with  each  other ;  and  his  volume  will  probably  for  many 
years  to  come  be  the  standard  work  of  reference  on  the  subject." 

THE  SCHOOL  JOURNAL.— "It  is  Impossible  in  a  brief  notice  to  give  any 
adequate  conception  of  the  scientific  character  and  practical  application  of  this 
admirable  volume.  In  its  class  it  stands  alone  among  American  books.  No 
thorough  student  of  psychology  will  rest  satisfied  until  he  owns  a  copy  of  this 
work." 

PROF.  E.  W.  SCRIPTURE,  FoZe.—"  Unquestionably  the  best  text-book  on  the 
subject." 


SCRIBNEKS  TEXT-BOOK   CATALOGUE, 


OUR  MORAL   NATURE.      Being  a  brief  System  of  Ethics.     By 
JAMES  McCOSH,  D.D.,   LL.D.,  ex-President  of  Princeton, 
12mo,  75  cents. 
Earlier  treatises  fully  expose  the  nature  of  the  Intellect,  Feelings, 

and  Will,   but  these  can  not  give  to  man  his  morality  and  his  moral 

ideas.     In  this  treatise  it  is  shown  that  man  is  a  moral  agent,  and  his 

moral  ideas  and  powers  are  expounded. 

THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  REALITY.  Should  it  be  Favored  by 
America?  By  JAMES  McCOSH,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  ex-President 
of  Princeton  College.    12mo,  75  cents  net. 

TESTS  OF  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  TRUTH.  Being  a  Treatise 
of  Applied  Logic.  By  JAMES  McCOSH,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  ex- 
President  of  Princeton  University.     12mo,  $1.00. 

THl£  ELEMENTS  OF  ETHICS.  By  JOHN  H.  MUIRHEAD, 
Batliol  College,  Oxford.  12mo,  SI. 00  net. 
Outline  of  Contents  :  Book  I,  The  Science  of  Ethics :  The 
Problem  of — Can  there  be  a  Science  of — Scope  of.  Book  II,  Moral 
Judgment :  The  Object  of — The  Standard  of.  Book  III,  Theories 
of  the  Knd  :  As  Pleasure — As  Self-sacrifice — Evolutionary  Hedon- 
ism. Book  IV,  The  End  as  Good  :  As  Common  Good — Forms  of. 
Book  V,  Moral  Progress :  The  Standard  as  Belative — As  Progressive 
— As  Ideal. 

REV.  PROF.  GEORGE  S.  FULLERTON[,  Unimrsltij  of  rcnn.~"  I  Una  the  book 
very  clear,  simple,  and  forcible,  and  I  shall  take  pleasure  in  recommending  it  to 
my  students." 

THE  ACADEIVIY.— "Letit  at  once  be  said,  then,  that  the  want,  which  all  the 
teachers  of  moral  philosophy  have  long  deplored,  of  some  book  which  they  can 
place  in  the  hands  of  beginners,  now  no  longer  can  be  alleged.  Mr.  Muirhead 
has  supplied  that  want.  .  .  .  In  the  first  place  the  work  13  conceived, 
and,  throughout,  is  written  in  an  eminently  philosophical  spirit ;  next,  whether 
the  views  set  forth,  be  right  or  wrong,  they  are  views  with  which  the  student 
must  be  made  acquainted  if  he  is  to  have  any  critical  knowledge  of  ethical 
science  ;  and,  finally,  the  book  covers  exactly  the  right  ground,  and  directs  at- 
tention to  the  really  important  points." 

AN  OUTLINE  STUDY  OF  MAN;  or,  the  Body  and  Mind  in  On© 
System.  With  illustrative  diagrams.  Revised  edition.  By 
MARK  HOPKINS,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  late  President  of  Williams 
College.    12mo,  $1.75. 

This  is  a  model  of  the  developing  method  as  applied  to  intellectual 
science.  The  work  is  on  an  entirely  new  plan.  It  presents  man  in 
his  unity,  and  his  several  faculties  and  their  relations  are  so  presented 
to  the  eye  in  illustrative  diagrams  as  to  be  readily  apprehended. 
The  work  has  come  into  very  general  use  in  this  country  as  a  manr 
ual  for  instruction,  and  the  demand  for  it  is  incroasing  every  year. 


MENTAL  AND  MORAL  SCIENCE. 


GENERAL  S.  C.  ARMSTRONG,  Princival  Of  Hampton  Institute.— "lam 
glad  of  the  opportunity  to  express  my  hlgli  apprcciatloD  of  Dr.  Hopkins'  Outline 
Study  of  Man.  It  has  done  more  for  me  personally  tlian  any  book  besides  tlio 
Bible.  More  than  any  other  it  teaches  the  greatest  of  lessons,  Tcnow  thyself.  For 
over  ten  years,  I  have  made  it  a  text  book  in  the  Senior  Class  of  this  school.  It 
is,  I  think,  the  greatest  and  most  useful  of  the  books  of  the  greatest  of  our  Am- 
erican educators.  Rev.  Dr.  Hopkins,  and  is  destined  to  do  a  great  work  in  forming 
not  only  the  ideas  but  the  character  of  youth  in  America  and  in  other  parts  of  the 
world." 

PROF.  ADDISON  BALLARD,  Of  Lafayette  College.— "I  have  for  years  used 
Dr.  Hopkins'  Outline  StuCy  of  Man,  in  connection  with  his  Law  of  Love,  as  a  text 
book  for  our  Senior  Classes.  I  have  done  this  with  unfailing  success  and  with 
Increasing  satisfaction.  It  Is  of  Incalculable  advantage  to  the  student  to  come 
under  the  influence,  through  his  books,  of  this  great  master  of  thought  and  of  style. 
I  cannot  speak  of  Outline  Study  in  terms  of  too  hearty  commendation." 


THE  LAW  OF  LOVE,  AND  LOVE  AS  A  LAW;  or,  Christian 
Ethics.  By  MARK  HOPKINS,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  late  President 
of  Williams  College.    12mo,  $1.75. 

This  work  is  designed  to  follow  the  author's  Outline  Study  of  Man, 
As  its  title  indicates  it  is  entirely  an  exposition  of  the  cardinal  precept 
of  Christian  philosophy  in  harmony  with  nature  and  on  the  basis  of 
reason.  Like  the  treatise  on  mental  philosophy  it  is  adapted  with 
unusual  skill  to  educational  uses. 

It  appears  in  a  new  edition,  which  has  been  in  part  re-written  in 
order  to  bring  it  into  closer  relation  to  his  Outline  Study  of  Man,  of 
which  work  it  is  really  a  continuation.  More  prominence  has  been 
given  to  the  idea  of  Rights,  but  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  the 
treatise  have  not  been  changed. 


FINAL  CAUSES.  By  PAUL  JANET,  Membor  of  the  French 
Acadenny.  With  a  Preface  by  Robert  Flint,  D.D.,  LL.D, 
From  second  French  edition.    8vo,  02.50. 

PROF.  FRANCIS  L.  PATTON,  of  Princeton  T7ieological  Seminary.— "I  re- 
gard Janet's  •  Final  Causes '  as  incomparably  tlie  best  thing  in  literature  on  the 
subject  of  wlilch  it  treats,  and  that  it  ought  to  be  in  the  hands  of  every  man  who 
has  any  interest  in  the  present  phases  of  the  theistio  problem.  I  have  recom- 
mended i:;  to  my  classes  in  the  seminary,  and  make  constant  use  cf  it  in  my  in- 
Btructions." 

NOAH  PORTER,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  late  President  Of  Yale  CoZZer/e.—"  I  am  delighted 
that  you  have  published  Janet's  '  Final  Causes '  in  an  Improved  form  and  at  a 
price  which  brings  it  within  the  reach  of  many  who  desire  to  possess  it.  It  is,  in 
my  opinion,  the  most  suggestive  treatise  on  this  important  topic  which  is  access- 
ible in  our  language." 


SCBIBNEB'S  TEXT-BOOK  CATALOGUE. 


THE  HUMAN  INTELLECT.  By  NOAH  PORTER,  D.D..  LL.D., 
late  President  of  Yale  College.  With  an  Introduction  upon 
Psychology  and  the  Human  Soul.    8yo,  $5.00. 

The  author  has  not  only  designed  to  furnish  a  text  book  which  shall 
be  sufficiently  comprehensive  and  scientific  to  satisfy  the  wants  of  the 
many  students  of  psychology  and  speculative  i)hilosophy  who  are  found 
in  our  higher  institutions  of  learning,  but  also  to  prepare  a  volume 
which  may  guide  the  advanced  student  to  a  clear  understanding  and  a 
just  estimate  of  the  questions  which  have  perpetually  appeared  and 
reappeared  in  the  history  of  philosophy. 

THE  BRITISH  QUARTERLY  REVIEW.— " President  Porter's  work,  the  result 
of  thirty  years'  professional  labor,  is  not  only  the  most  Important  philosophical 
work  that  has  appeared  in  our  language  since  Sir  William  Hamilton's,  but  its 
form  as  a  manual  makes  It  invaluable  to  students." 

THE  PRINCETON  REVIEW.— "After  a  careful  examination  of  this  truly  great 
work,  we  are  ready  to  pronounce  it  the  most  complete  and  exhaustive  exhibition 
of  the  cognitive  faculties  of  the  human  soul  to  be  found  in  our  language,  and,  so 
far  as  we  know,  in  any  language.  The  work  is  a  monument  of  the  author's  in- 
clght,  industry,  learning,  and  judgment ;  one  of  the  great  productions  of  our 
time ;  an  honor  to  our  country,  and  a  fresh  proof  that  genuine  philosophy  has  not 
died  out  among  us." 

ELEMENTS  OF  INTELLECTUAL  SCIENCE.  A  Manual  for 
Schools  and  Colleges.  By  NOAH  PORTER,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
late  President  of  Yale  College.    8vo,  $3.00n 

This  is  an  abridgment  of  the  a  .thor's  "  Human  Intellect,"  contain- 
ing all  the  matter  necessary  for  use  in  the  class-room,  and  has  been  in- 
troduced as  a  text-book  in  Yale,  Dartmouth,  Bowdoin,  Oberlin,  Bates, 
Hamilton,  Vassar,  and  Smith  Colleges  ;  Wesleyan,  Ohio,  Lehigh,  and 
Wooster  Universities,  and  many  other  colleges,  academies,  normal  and 
high  schools. 

THE  NEW  YORK  WORLD.— "The  abridgment  is  very  well  done,  the  state- 
ments being  terse  and  perspicuous." 

THE  NEW  YORK  TRIBUNE.— " Presents  the  leading  facts  of  intellectual 
Bclence,  from  the  author's  point  of  view,  with  clearness  and  vigor." 


ELEMENTS  OF  MORAL  SCIENCE,  Theoretical  and  Practical. 
By  NOAH  PORTER,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  late  President  of  Yale 
College.    8vo,  $3.00. 

GEORGE  S.  MORRIS,  Professor  of  Ethics,  University  of  MlcMgan.^''  I  have 
read  the  work  with  great  Interest,  and  parts  of  it  with  enthusiasm.  It  is  a  vast 
Improvement  on  any  of  the  current  text  ^ooks  of  ethics.  It  is  tolerant  and 
catholic  in  tone ;  not  superficially,  but  soundly,  inductive  in  method  and  ten- 
dency, and  rich  in  practical  suggestion." 

JULIUS  H.  SEELYE,  President  Amherst  College.~"lt  is  copious  and  clear, 
with  ample  scholarship  and  remarkable  Insight,  and  I  am  sure  that  all  teachers 
of  Moral  Science  wiU  find  it  a  valuable  aid  in  their  iustructioua." 


MENTAL  AND  MORAL  SCIENCE. 


OUTLINES  OF  MORAL  SCIENCE.  By  ARCHIBALD  ALEX- 
ANDER, D.D.,  LL.D.    12mo,  $1.50. 

This  book  is  elementary  in  its  character,  and  is  marked  by  great 
clearness  and  simplicity  of  style.  It  is  intended  to  lay  the  foundations 
and  elucidate  the  principles  of  the  Philosophy  of  Morals.  It  is  widely 
used  in  colleges  and  other  institutions  of  learning,  and  is  specially 
adapted  for  students  whose  age,  or  the  time  at  whose  disposal,  does 
not  permit  the  use  of  the  more  extended  and  abstruse  works  on  ethics. 

THE  THEORY  OF  MORALS.  By  PAUL  JANET,  Member  of  the 
French  Academy.  Translated  under  the  supervision  of 
President  Noah  Porter.    8vo,  $2.50. 

Prof.  Janet  in  this  book  gives  us  not  only  a  clear  and  concise  exam- 
ination of  the  whole  study  of  moral  science,  but  he  has  introduced  into 
the  discussion  many  elements  which  have  hitherto  been  too  mnch 
neglected.  The  first  principles  of  moral  science  and  the  fundamental 
idea  of  morals  the  author  describes  with  much  precision,  and  presents 
an  interesting  and  systematic  exposition  of  them. 

SCIENCE.—"  Tlie  book  has  lucidity  and  Is  full  of  learning.  It  is  hardly  extrav- 
agant to  say  that  so  clear  and  picturesque  a  treatise,  in  the  hands  of  an  alert 
teacher,  might  save  the  study  of  ethics  from  its  almost  inevitable  fate  of  being 
very  dull." 

A  THEORY  OF  CONDUCT.  By  ARCHIBALD  ALEXANDER. 
12mo,  $1.00. 

Contents  :  The  Theory  of  Right— The  Theory  of  Duty— The 
Nature  of  Character — The  Motive  to  Morality. 

Professor  Alexander's  book  is  an  essay  in  that  department  of 
metaphysics  in  which  of  recent  years  perhaps  the  most  interest  has 
been  awakened.  Rarely  has  the  essence  of  so  vast  a  problem  been 
stated  in  such  succint  form.  The  work  contains  a  very  complete  and 
searching  examination  of  the  various  ethical  theories  and  systems, 
together  with  the  positive  statement  of  the  author's  own  doctrine, 
which  finds  the  ethical  impulse  essentially  religious. 

BASAL  CONCEPTS  IN  PHILOSOPHY.  By  Prof.  A.  T.  OR- 
MOND,  of  Princeton.    12mo,  $1.50. 

An  important  work  in  which  an  attempt  is  made  to  reconsider 
and  restate  the  fundamental  ideas  of  philosophy,  in  view  of  the  vital 
issues  of  the  present  state  of  culture,  with  the  purpose  of  unifying 
the  conflicting  elements  of  life,  and  of  supplying  to  knowledge  and 
belief  an  immutable  ground.  The  character  of  the  discussions  is 
sweeping,  for  they  touch  vitally  every  fundamental  issue  in  the 
thinking  and  spiritual  life  of  the  time. 


BIBLICAL  STUDY. 


INTERNATIONAL  THEOLOGICAL  LIBRARY.  Edited  by  Prof. 
CHARLES  A.  BRIGGS,  D.D.,  of  Union  Theological  Semi- 
nary, New  York,  and  Prof.  S.  D.  F.  SALMOND,  D.D.,  of  Aber- 
deen, Scotland. 

This  library,  undertaken  by  Messrs.  Charles  Scribner's  Sons  in 
connection  with  Messrs.  T.  &  T.  Clark,  of  Edinburgh,  is  designed  to 
cover  the  whole  field  of  Christian  Theology,  each  volume  being-  com- 
plete in  itself  and  yet  part  of  an  organic  whole.  It  is  to  be  a  series 
of  text-books  for  students  of  Theology,  and  yet  a  systematic  exposition 
of  the  several  departments  of  theological  science  for  all  intelligent 
persons  The  library  is  international,  interconfessional,  catholic,  and 
scientific.  The  authors  have  been  chosen  for  their  eminent  ability 
in  the  departments  assigned  to  them.  The  volumes  following  are  in 
preparation  : 

THE  LITERATURE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.    By  Prof.  S.  R. 

DRIVER,  D.D.,  Canon  of  Christ  Church,  Oxford.    600  pages, 

crown  8vo,S2, 50  net.    Second  editron. 

An  account  of  the  contents  and  structure  of  the  several  books, 
with  some  indication  of  their  general  character  and  aim.  The  origin 
of  the  books  and  the  growth  of  the  Canon,  according  to  the  Jews, 
are  discussed  in  an  Introduction.  Analysis  of  the  Hexateuch  (Gene- 
sis-Joshua) furnishes  the  student  systematic  views  of  the  theme  and 
plan  of  each  book,  after  which  the  character  and  date  of  the  Prophetic 
and  the  Priestly  narratives  are  discussed,  and  a  synopsis  given  of  the 
priest's  code.  The  whole  Old  Testament  is  similarly  analyzed.  Leg- 
islative, prophetic,  and  poetical  books  are  described  somewhat  the 
more  fully. 

THE  ACADEMY.— "The  present  instalment  augurs  well  for  •  The  Interna- 
tional Theological  Library,'  and  if  the  forthcoming  volumes  attain  anything 
like  the  same  degree  of  excellence,  they  will  form  a  valuable  and  much  needed 
addition  to  the  theological  literature  of  the  English-spcaliing  nations. 
Professor  Driver's  excellent  volume  contains  a  vast  amount  of  valuable  and 
trustworthy  Information,  compendiously  but  clearly  conveyed  in  language  of 
almost  conversational  ease  and  familiarity." 

PROF.  A.  B.  DAVIDSON.— "The  author's  plan  is  excellent.  It  is  executed 
with  much  learning,  great  candor,  every  consideration  for  the  opinions  of  others, 
but  firm  assertion  of  his  own  right  to  judge." 

PROF.  WILLIS  J.  BEECHER,  AUBURN  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY.— "  While 
my  opinions  differ  widely  from  his,  I  am  delighted  with  the  book.  It  is  a  full  and 
compact  presentation  of  the  views  now  held  by  many  able  scholars.  Alike  for 
them  and  for  their  opponents  it  is  desirable  to  have  just  such  a  clear  presenta- 
tion of  the  matter  placed  within  reach." 


BIBLICAL  STUDY. 


CHRISTIAN  ETHICS.    By  NEWMAN  SMITH,  D.D.,  New  Haven. 
Crown  8vo,  $2.50  net.    See  page  55. 

* '  The  science  of  living  according  to  Christianity  ;  a  comprehen- 
sive survey,  from  the  moral  point  of  view,  of  the  founding,  up-build- 
ing, and  promised  completion  of  the  kingdom  of  God  on  earth." 

After  an  introduction  on  the  Nature  of  Christian  Ethics,  with  its 
relation  to  other  subjects,  the  work  falls  under  two  grand  divisions, 
as  follows :  Part  I.  The  Christian  Ideal.  Revelation  of— Con- 
tents of — Realization  of — Forms  to  be  Realized — Methods  of  the  Realiza- 
tion— Spheres  in  which  it  is  to  be  Realized.  Part  II.  Christian 
Duties.  Conscience — Duties  towards  Self — Towards  Others — The 
Social  Problem — Duties  towards  God — The  Christian  Moral  Motive 
Power, 


APOLOGETICS;  Or,  Christianity  Defensively  Stated.  By  ALEX- 
ANDER BALMAIN  BRUCE,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Apologetics 
and  New  Testament  Exegesis,  Free  Church  College,  Glas- 
gow.   $2.50  net. 

Professor  Bruce's  work  is  not  an  abstract  treatise  on  Apologetics, 
but  an  apologetic  presentation  of  the  Christian  faith,  with  reference 
to  whatever  in  our  intellectual  environment  makes  faith  difficult  at 
the  present  time.  It  addresses  itself  to  men  whose  sympathies  are 
with  Christianity,  and  discusses  the  topics  of  pressing  concern,  the 
burning  questions  of  the  time,  and  is  offered  as  an  aid  to  faith  rather 
than  a  buttress  of  received  belief  and  an  armory  of  weapons  for  the 
orthodox  defender  of  the  faith. 

IN  PREPARATION. 

HISTORY  OF  DOCTRINE.    By  Prof.  G.  P.  Fisher,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Yale  University. 

SYMBOLICS.    By  Prof.  Philip  Sch  aff,  D.D.  ,  LL.  D.  ,  Union  Theological  Seminary. 

COMPARATIVE  RELIGION.  By  Prin.  A.  B. .  Fairbairn,  D.D.,  Mansfield  Col- 
lege, Oxford. 

THEOLOGY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  By  Prof.  A.  B.  Davidson,  D.D.,  Free 
College,  Edinburgli. 

CHRISTIAN  INSTITUTIONS.  By  Prof.  A.  B.  G.  Allen,  D.D.,  Episcopal  Divin- 
ity School,  Cambridge,  Mass, 

THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  RELIGION.  By  Prof.  Robert  Flint,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Uni- 
versity of  Edinburgli. 

THE  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  By  Prof. 
Francis  Brown,  D.D.,  Union  Theological  Seminary. 

THE  LITERATURE  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.  By  Prof..S.  D.  F.  Salmond, 
D.D.,  Free  College,  Aberdeen. 


GREEK,  HEBREW,  AND  SEMITIC 
TEXT-BOOKS. 


ELEMENTS  OF   HEBREW.    By  WILLIAM    R.   HARPER,  Ph.D. 

Eighth  edition.    Revised  and  Indexed.    8vo,  $2.00  net. 

An  Elementary  Grammar  of  the  Hebrew  Language,  by  an  Induc- 
tive Method.  Comprising  systematic  statements  of  the  principles  of 
Hebrew  Orthography  and  Etymology,  according  to  the  latest  and 
most  scientific  authorities,  deduced  from  examples  quoted  in  the  work ; 
with  a  practically  exhaustive  discussion  and  classification  of  the 
Hebrew  Yowel-sounds. 

INTRODUCTORY    HEBREW    METHOD    AND    MANUAL.      By 

WILLIAM     R.     HARPER,    Ph.D.      Fourth    edition.     12mo, 

$2.00  net. 

A  Text-Book  for  Beginners  in  Hebrew,  by  an  Inductive  Method. 

Centaining  the  Text  of  Genesis  I.  — VIII. ;  with  notes,  referring  to  the 

author's  "Elements  of  Hebrew,"  Exercises  for  Translation,  Grammar 

Lessons  covering  the  Principles  of  Orthography  and  Etymology,  and 

Lists  of  the  most  frequently  occurring  Hebrew  words. 

PROF.  R.  V.  FOSTER,  Cumberland  University,  Lebanon,  Tenn.—"A.n  ex- 
pression of  the  latest  Hebrew  scliolarslilp,  and  the  work  of  a  practical  teacher, 
who  imows  the  wants  of  beginners." 

ELEMENTS  OF  HEBREW  SYNTAX.  By  WM.  R.  HARPER, 
Ph.D.  8vo,  $2.00  net. 

A  presentation  of  the  principles  of  Hebrew  Syntax,  by  an  inductive 
method. 

The  method  of  presentation  includes  (1)  a  citation  and  translation 
|f  examples  teaching  a  given  principle  ;  (2)  a  statement  of  the  prin- 
ciple ;  (3)  the  addition  of  details  and  exceptions  in  smaller  type  ;  (4)  a 
list  of  references  (in  the  order  of  the  Hebrew  Bible)  for  further  study. 

The  ground  covered  includes  (1)  TJie  Nouns^  viz.,  gender,  number, 
determination,  annexion,  pronouns,  numerals,  etc.;  (2)  Use  of  tlie 
Tenses  and  Moods,  viz. ,  the  perfect  of  past,  present,  and  future  action, 
the  unperfect,  the  perfect,  and  imperfect  with  waw  consecutive,  with 
waw  conjunctive,  the  jussive  and  cohortative,  participle,  infinitive  ab- 
solute, iriinitive  construct ;  (3)  Verbal  Government  and  Apposition,  viz., 
the  accusative,  double  accusative,  cognate  accusatiTC,  adverbial  ac- 
cusative, prepositions,  verbal  apposition  ;  (4)  The  Sentence  and  kind  of 
{Sentences,  viz. ,  subject  and  predicate,  arrangement  of  words,  emphasis, 
agreement,  negative,  interrogative,  opative,  copulative,  conditional, 
circumstantial,  etc. ;  (5)  Rehrew  Poetry^  viz. ,  various  kinds  of  parai^ 
leliam,  measure,  strophic  arrangement. 


SCBIBNEE'S   TEXT-BOOK  CATALOGUE. 

AM  INTRODUCTORY  NEW  TESTAMENT  GREEK  METHOD. 
3y  WILLIAM  R.  HARPER,  Ph.D.,  and  REVERE  F.  WEID- 
NER,  D.D.    8VO5  $2.50  net. 

Many  who  have  not  studied  Classical  Greek  desire  to  know  New 
Testament  Greek.  For  these  as  well  as  for  those  who,  having  studied 
Classical  Greek,  desire  to  review  more  particularly  the  principles  of 
New  Testament  Greek  this  book  is  intended.  The  order  of  work  pre- 
scribed is :  Mrsty  to  gain  an  accurate  and  thorough  knowledge  of 
some  of  the  "facts"  of  the  language;  secondly^  to  learn  from  these 
"  facts"  the  principles  which  they  illustrate  and  by  which  they  are 
regulated  ;  thirdly,  to  apply  these  principles  in  the  further  progress  of 
the  work. 

Contents  : — I.  Fifty  Inductive  Lessons  based  on  the  Gospel  of 
St.  John.— II.  1.  A  Critical  Text  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John.— 3.  A 
Literal  Translation  of  John  1.-4. — 3.  A  Vocabulary  of  the  Gospel  and 
Epistles  of  St.  John.  — 4.  Lists  of  words  occurring  most  frequently. — 
III.  Elements  of  New  Testament  Greek  Grammar. 

PROF.  J.  H.  THAYER,  Harvard  University.—"!  thorouglily  believe  in  the 
inductive  method  which  has  shaped  the  work  and  anticipate  lor  It  large  useful- 
ness and  success.  It  is  carefully  edited  and  printed,  and  supplies  an  evident  lack 
among  the  rudimentary  text  liooks  for  the  study  of  the  Greek  Testament." 

PROF.  SAMUEL  R.  WINANS,  Princeton,  K  J.-"  A  book  likely  to  be  widely 
popular  with  those  who  desire  to  know  Greek  enough  to  read  the  New  Testament 
and  would  come  directly  at  it.  The  method  has  two  notable  features  which  all 
teachers  of  the  classics— and  of  languages  generally— would  do^tvell  to  mark ;  the 
mastering  of  word-lists  which  comprise  the  ordinary  vocabulary,  and  the  memoip- 
Izing  of  passages  of  the  original  text."  ^ 

GREEK,  LEXICON.    Prof.  SOPHOCLES.    See  page  15. 

BIBLICO-THEOLOGICAL  LEXICON  of  N.  T.  GREEK. 
CREMER.    See  page  80. 

WILSON,  ROBERT  DICK,  Ph.D.  Professor  of  Old  Testament 
Languages  and  History  in  the  Western  Theological  Semi- 
nary. 

ELEMENTS  OF  SYEIAC  GKAMMAR,  by  an  Inductive  Method.    8vo,  net,  $2.50. 

INTRODUCTORY  SYRIAC  METHOD  AND  MANUAL.     8vo,  net,  $2.50. 

To  Syriac  what  Professor  Harper's  text-books  are  to  Hebrew, 
following  their  order  and  arrangement  as  closely  as  practicable. 
Thus  in  the  "  Method  and  Manual "  the  first  four  chapters  of  Genesis 
are  chosen  because  they  afford  the  best  means  of  comparison  with 
the  Hebrew.  Graded  selections  follow,  leading  up  to  the  Peshito. 
Notes  and  observations  contain  the  main  principles  of  Syriac  grammar 
with  explanations  of  its  orthography,  etymology,  and  syntax  as  these 
are  fully  presented  in  the  *' Elements."  In  the  syntax  of  this  other 
volume  examples  are  given  both  from  the  Peshito  and  from  native 
classical  sources,  a  feature  which  both  delights  the  student  and 
furthers  progress. 


CHURCH    HISTORY. 


DERNARD  OF  CLAIRVAUX:  The  Times,  the  Man,  and  his 
Worl<.  An  Historical  Study  in  Eight  Lectures.  By  RICHARD 
S.  STORRS.    8vo,  $2.50. 

THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  With  a  View  of  th« 
State  of  the  Roman  World  at  the  Birth  of  Christ.  Bj 
GEORGE  P.  FISHER,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Church 
History  in  Yale  College.    8yo,  $2.50. 

THE  BOSTON  ADVERTISER.— "Prof.  Fisher  has  displayed  in  this,  as  in  hla 
previous  published  writings,  that  catholicity  and  that  calm  judicial  quality  oJ 
mind  which  are  so  indispensable  to  a  true  historical  critic." 

THE  EXAMINER.— "The  volume  is  not  a  dry  repetition  of  well-known  facts. 
It  bears  the  marks  of  original  research.  Every  page  glows  with  freshness  ol 
material  and  choiceness  of  diction." 

THE  EVANGELIST.—" The  volume  contains  an  amount  of  information  that 
makes  it  one  of  the  most  useful  of  treatises  for  a  student  in  philosophy  and 
theology,  and  must  secure  for  it  a  place  in  his  library  as  a  standard  authority." 

HISTORY  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.  By  GEORGE  P. 
FISHER,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History  in 
Yale  University.    8vo,  with  numerous  maps,  $3.50. 

This  work  is  in  several  respects  notable.  It  gives  an  able  presenta- 
tion of  the  subject  in  a  single  volume,  thus  supplying  the  need  of  a 
complete  and  at  the  same  time  condensed  survey  of  Church  History. 
It  will  also  be  found  much  broader  and  more  comprehensive  than  other 
books  of  the  kind. 

HON.  GEORGE  BANCROFT.— "I  have  to  tell  you  of  the  pride  and  deUght 
with  which  I  have  examined  your  rich  and  most  instructive  volume.  As  an 
American,  let  me  thank  you  for  producing  a  work  so  honorable  to  the  country." 

REV.  R.  S.  STORRS,  D.D.— "I  am  surprised  that  the  author  has  been  able  to 
put  such  multitudes  of  facts,  with  analysis  of  opinions,  definitions  of  tendencies,  1 
and  concise  personal  sketches,  into  a  narrative  at  once  so  graceful,  graphic,  and 
compact." 

PROF.  ALEXANDER  V.  G.  ALLEN,  Episcopal  Divinity  School,  CamDridge, 
Mass.—"  It  has  the  merit  of  being  eminently  readable,  its  conclusions  rest  on  the 
widest  research  and  the  latest  and  best  scholarship,  it  keeps  a  just  sense  of  pro- 
portion in  the  treatment  of  topics,  it  is  written  in  the  interest  of  Christianity  as  a 
whole  and  not  of  any  sect  or  church,  it  is  so  entirely  impartial  that  it  is  not  easy 
to  discern  the  author's  sympathies  or  his  denominational  attitude,  and  it  has  the 
great  advantage  of  dwelling  at  due  length  upon  English  and  American  Church 
history.  In  short,  it  is  a  work  which  no  one  but  a  long  and  successful  teacher  o'l 
Church  History  could  have  produced." 


SGRIBNER'S  TEXT-BOOK  CATALOGUE. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OUR  LORD  UPON  THE  EARTH.  By  Rev.  SAM- 
UEL J.  ANDREWS,  Considered  in  its  Historical,  Chrono- 
logical, and  Geographical  Relations.  New  and  revised 
edition  from  new  plates,  with  maps  and  plans.  Crown 
8vo,  $2.50. 

The  continued  demand  for  this  book  shows  that  it  meets  a  want 
not  otherwise  adequately  met.  While  it  deals  with  the  life  of  the  Lord 
on  earth  in  its  chronological,  topographical,  and  historical  relations 
especially,  the  work  offers  far  more  than  a  harmony  of  the  Gospels, 
valuable  as  that  is,  since  here  the  skeleton  harmony  is  filled  out  with 
all  the  life  and  logic  of  daily  walk  and.  conversation.  The  elements 
of  time  and  place  are  discussed  as  important  toward  convincing  men 
of  Christ's  earthly  existence  and  giving  a  distinct  picture  of  His 
labors,  His  outward  circumstances.  His  relations  to  those  about  Him. 
In  the  matter  of  chronology,  this  work  is  unquestionably  of  the 
first  and  highest  authority,  and  this  revised  edition  presents  the  results 
of  the  latest  investigation  and  discovery. 

THE    CHURCHMAN.— "There  Will  not  soon  be  any  wWcli  can    take  its 
place." 

THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  TIMES.— "  Indispensable  to  the  ever-growing  class 
of  real  students.'' 

EVANGELIST.—"  Should  be  in  every  minister's  library." 

CHRISTIAN  ETHICS.   By  NEWMAN  SMYTH,  D.D.,  New  Haven. 

[See  MENTAL  and  MORAL  SCIENCE.] 
HISTORY  OF  THE  JEWISH  PEOPLE  IN  THE  TIME  OF  OUR 
LORD.  By  Dr.  EMIL  SCHURER,  Professor  of  Theology  In 
ihe  University  of  Giessen.  Translated  from  the  second 
edition  (revised  throughout  and  greatly  enlarged)  of  History 
of  the  New  Testament  Time. 

Heretofore  issued  in  parts,  but  now  complete  in  a  form  conven- 
ient for  general  readers.  First  division.  2  vols.  Political  History 
of  Palestine  from  B.C.  175,  to  A.D.  135.  Second  division.  3  vols. 
Internal  Condition  of  Palestine,  and  of  the  Jewish  People  in  the  time 
of  Christ.  With  Index  to  the  entire  work,  in  all  5  vols.,  8vo  ,  net, 
$8. 00.  Single  volumes  supplied  only  in  the  English  edition  at  $3. 00 
per  volume  and  $1.50  additional  for  the  Index. 

Examines  into  and  describes  that  realm  of  thought  and  history  in 
which  the  universal  religion  of  Christ  grew  up.  The  surroundings,  pre- 
valent tendencies  of  thought,  spiritual  and  intellectual  life,  and  the  ex- 
tensive, varied  literature  of  the  time,  are  among  the  treasures  set  forth. 
ENGLISH  CHURCHMAN.— "Under  Professor  Schurer's  guidance,  we  are 
enabled  to  a  large  extent  to  construct  a  social  and  political  frame-work  for  the 
Gospel  History,  and  to  set  it  in  such  a  light  as  to  see  new  evidences  of  the  truth- 
fulness of  that  history  and  of  its  contemporaneousness. 
.    .    .    The  length  of  our  notice  shows  our  estimate  of  the  value  of  his  work." 

BRITISH  QUARTERLY  REVIEW.— "As  a  hand-book  for  the  study  of  the  New 
Testament,  the  work  is  invaluable  and  unique." 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.  By  PHILIP  SCHAFF, 
D.D.  New  Edition,  re-written  and  enlarged.  Vol.  I.— Apos- 
,  tolic  Christianity,  A.D.  1-100.  Vol.  Il.-Ante-Nicene  Chris- 
tianity, A.D.  100—325.  Vol.  III.— Nicene  and  Post-Nicene 
Christianity,  A.D.  311-600.  Vol.  IV.— Mediseval  Christianity, 
A.D.  590-1073.  Vol.  VI.— Modern  Christianity.  The  German 
Reformation,  A.D.  1517-1530.  Vol.  Vll.-The  Period  of  the 
Swiss  Reformation.    8vo,  price  per  vol.,  $4.00. 

This  work  is  extremely  comprehensive.  All  subjects  that  properly 
belong  to  a  complete  sketch  are  treated,  including  the  history  of  Chris- 
tian art,  hymnology,  accounts  of  the  lives  and  chief  works  of  the 
Fathers  of  the  Church,  etc.  The  great  theological,  christological,  and 
anthropological  controversies  of  the  period  are  duly  sketched  ;  and  in 
all  the  details  of  history  the  organizing  hand  of  a  master  is  distinctly 
seen,  shaping  the  mass  of  materials  into  order  and  system. 

PROF.  GEO.  P.  FISHER,  Of  Tale  College.— ''Br.  Schaff  has  thorouglily  and 
Buccessfully  accomplislied  his  task.  The  volumes  are  replete  with  evidences  of  a 
careful  study  of  the  orlgliaal  scurces  and  of  an  extraordinary  and,  we  might  say, 
unsurpassed  acquaintance  with  the  modern  literature— German,  French,  and 
English— in  the  department  of  ecclesiastical  history.  They  are  equally  marked  by 
a  fair-minded,  conscientious  spirit,  as  well  as  by  a  lucid,  animated  mode  of 
presentation." 

PROF.  ROSWELL  D.  HITCHCOCK,  D.D.— "In  no  other  single  work  of 
/ts  kind  with  which  I  am  acquainted  will  students  and  general  readers  find  so 
much  to  instruct  and  interest  them." 

DR.  JUL.  MULLER,  of  Halle.— "It  is  the  only  history  of  the  first  six  cen- 
turies which  truly  satisfies  the  wants  of  the  present  age.  It  is  rich  in  results  of 
original  investigation." 

HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST,  IN  CHRONOLOGI- 
CAL TABLES.  A  Synchronistic  View  of  the  Events,  Charac- 
teristics, and  Culture  of  each  period,  including  the  History  of 
Polity,  Worship,  Literature,  and  Doctrines,  together  with  two 
Supplementary  Tables  upon  the  Church  in  America;  and  an 
Appendix,  containing  the  series  of  Councils,  Popes,  Patri- 
archs, and  other  Bishops,  and  a  full  Index.  By  the  late 
HENRY  B.  SMITH,  D.D.,  Professor  in  the  Union  Theologi- 
cal Seminary  of  the  City  of  New  York.    Folio,  $5.00. 

REV.  DR.  W.  G.  T.  SHEDD.— "Prof.  Smith's  Historical  Tables  are  the  best 
that  I  know  of  in  any  language.  In  preparing  such  a  work,  with  so  much  care  and 
research,  Prof.  Smith  has  famished  ^  the  student  an  apparatus  that  will  be  of 
life-long  service  to  him" 

REV.  DR.  WILLIAM  ADAMS.— "The  labor  expended  upon  such  a  work  ia 
immense,  and  its  accuracy  and  completeness  do  honor  to  the  reoearch  aiKj 
BCholarship  of  its  author,  and  are  an  Invaluable  acquisition  to  our  literature." 


SGRIBNER'S  TEXT-BOOK  CATALOGUE. 

LECTURES  ON  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  JEWISH  CHURCH.  By 
ARTHUR  PENRHYN  STANLEY,  D.D.  With  Maps  and  Plans. 
New  Edition  from  New  Plates,  with  the  author's  latest  revis* 
ion.  Part  L— From  Abraham  to  Samuel.  Part  II.— From 
Samuel  to  the  Captivity.  Part  III.— From  the  Captivity  to 
the  Christian  Era.  Three  vols.,  12mo  (sold  separately),  each 
$2.00. 

The  same— Westminster  Edition,  Three  vols.,  8vo  (sold  in  sets 
only),  per  set,  $9.00. 

LECTURES  ON  THE   HISTORY  OF  THE  EASTERN   CHURCH. 

With  an  introduction  on  the  Study  of  Ecclesiastical  History. 
By  ARTHUR  PENRHYN  STANLEY,  D.D.  New  Edition  from 
New  Plates.    12mo,  $2.00. 

LECTURES  ON  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  SCOT- 
LAND. By  ARTHUR  PENRHYN  STANLEY,  D.D.  8vo,  $1.50. 

In  all  that  concerns  the  external  characteristics  of  the  scenes  and 
persons  described,  Dr.  Stanley  is  entirely  at  home.  His  books  are  not 
dry  records  of  historic  events,  but  animated  pictures  of  historic  scenes 
and  of  the  actors  in  them,  while  the  human  motives  and  aspects  of 
events  are  brought  out  in  bold  and  full  relief. 

THE  LONDON  CRITIC— "Earnest,  eloquent,  learned,  with  a  style  that  Is 
never  monotonous,  but  luring  through  its  eloquence,  the  lectures  will  maintain 
his  fame  as  author,  scholar,  and  divine.  We  could  point  out  many  passages  that 
glow  with  a  true  poetic  fire,  but  there  are  hundreds  pictorially  rich  and  poetically 
true.  The  reader  experiences  no  weariness,  for  in  every  page  and  paragraph 
there  is  something  to  engage  the  mind  and  refresh  the  soul." 

THE  NEW  ENGLANDER.—"  We  have  first  to  express  our  admiration  of  the 
grace  and  graphic  beauty  of  his  style.  The  felicitous  discrimination  in  the  use 
of  language  which  appears  on  every  page  is  especially  required  on  these  topics, 
where  the  aut'nor's  position  might  so  easily  be  mistaken  through  an  unguarded 
statement.  Dr.  Stanley  is  possessed  of  the  prime  quality  of  an  historical  student 
and  writer— namely,  the  historical  feeling,  or  sense,  by  which  conditions  of  life 
and  types  of  character,  remote  from  our  present  experience,  are  vividly  con- 
ceived of  and  truly  appreciated." 

THE  N.  Y.  TIMES.— "The  Old  Testament  History  is  here  presented  as  it 
never  was  presented  before ;  with  so  much  clearness,  elegance  of  style,  and  ""  Is- 
toric  and  literary  illustration,  not  to  speak  of  learning  and  calmness  of  jutigment, 
that  not  theologians  alone,  but  also  cultivated  readers  generally,  are  drawn  to  lt3 
pages.  In  point  of  style  it  takes  rank  with  Macaulay'a  History  and  the  best 
chapters  of  Froude." 


CHURCH  HISTORY. 


LECTURES  ON  MEDIEVAL  CHURCH  HISTORY.  By  RICHARD 
C.  TRENCH,  D.D.,  Archbishop  of  Dublin.    8vo,  $3.00. 

In  this  work  the  author  discusses  the  more  important  epochs  of 
Church  History,  tracing  the  origin  and  growth  of  various  sects  and 
sketching  the  careers  of  the  great  Schoolmen  and  Reformers.  Intro- 
ducing his  subject  with  a  general  consideration  of  the  study  of  Church 
History,  he  devotes  his  early  chapters  to  the  beginning  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  the  conversion  of  England  and  Ger- 
many, Monasticism  and  the  Crusades,  with  accounts  of  the  Mendicant 
Orders  and  the  Waldenses,  His  later  chapters  tisat  of  the  great  coun- 
cils of  the  West,  Wiclif,  Hus,  and  their  followers,  with  a  view  of 
Christian  art,  life,  and  work  down  to  the  eve  of  the  Reformation. 

THE  CONFLICT  OF  CHRISTIANITY  WITH  HEATHENISM.  By 
Dr.  GERHARD  UHLHORN.  Translatedby  Prof.  Egbert  C. 
Smyth  and  Rev.  C.  J.  H.  Ropes.    Crown  8vo,  $2.50. 

This  volume  describes  with  extraordinary  vividness  and  spirit  the 
religious  and  moral  condition  of  the  Pagan  world,  the  rise  and  spread 
of  Christianity,  its  conflict  with  heathenism,  and  its  final  victory. 

THE  BOSTON  ADVERTISER.—"  It  is  easy  to  see  why  this  volume  is  so  highly 
esteemed.  It  is  systematic,  thorough,  and  concise.  But  its  power  is  in  the  wide 
mental  vision  and  well-balanced  imagination  of  the  author,  which  enable  him  to 
re-constract  the  scenes  of  ancient  history.  An  exceptional  clearness  and  force 
mark  his  style." 

THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  TIMES.— "One  might  read  many  books  without 
obtaining  more  than  a  fraction  of  the  profitable  information  here  conveyed,  and 
he  might  search  a  long  time  before  finding  one  which  would  so  thoroughly  fix 
his  attention  and  command  his  interest " 

A  HISTORY  OF  CHRISTIAN  DOCTRINE.    By  W.  G.  T.  SHEDD, 

Professor  of    Systematic    Theology    in    Union    Theological 
Seminary.    2  vols.,  8vo,  $5.00. 

The  work  is  divided  into  seven  books  :  1. — The  Influence  of  Philo- 
sophical Systems  ;  2. — History  of  Apologies  ;  3. — History  of  Theology; 
4. — History  of  Anthropology  ;  5. — Of  ISoteriology ;  6. — Of  Eschatol- 
ogy  ;  7. — Of  Symbols.  The  style  is  lucid  and  penetrating,  the  dis- 
cussions move  onward  according  to  the  law  of  the  subjects  themselves, 
as  evoked  in  history  ;  and  new  light  is  thrown  on  past  thought  by 
pertinent  illustration  from  subsequent  times. 

THE  NORTH  AMERICAN  REVIEW.— "Dr.  Shedd  has  furnished  an  important 
v^ontribution  to  the  study  of  Church  history.  It  is  eminently  a  readable  book,  and 
will,  no  doubt,  be  extensively  read  beyond  the  circle  of  his  own  profession  by 
Intelligent  laymen  in  all  walks  of  life." 

THE  N.  Y.  EVENING  POST.—"  A  body  of  theological  history  which  is  in  form 
as  perfect  as  it  is  in  substance  excellent." 


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